Houthis deny targeting Mecca as fighting intensifies in Yemen amid Saudi interception claims

Disputed attacks and claims

Saudi Arabia’s civil defence described the alleged attacks on civilian sites as violations of international humanitarian law. The reported strikes in Saudi Arabia came amid escalating combat inside Yemen.

Escalation inside Yemen

The fighting pits Saudi-backed forces supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government against Houthi fighters. In a post on X, al-Nuzaili reported 773 artillery attacks, 44 drone strikes and 37 rocket attacks in al-Jawf, Marib, al-Bayda and Taiz governorates.

Al-Nuzaili also said coalition forces carried out 23 air strikes against the Houthis, damaging 86 heavy weapons and military vehicles. Information Minister Salem al-Awalqi accused Houthi forces of repeatedly shelling Aden, including the densely populated al-Buraiqa district.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said his forces had struck a Saudi coalition command and control centre in al-Buraiqa with ballistic missiles. The competing accounts describe attacks in the same district.

Displacement and health needs

The World Health Organization said casualties had climbed to 11,755 by November 8: 2,098 people killed and 9,657 wounded. More than 320,000 people had been displaced by fighting since August 1, including almost 16,000 in the previous week.

Medical supplies have been delivered and a vaccination campaign is targeting nearly one million children, the WHO said. However, it reported continuing gaps in trauma care, rehabilitation and mental health services.