Saudi Arabia Intercepts Houthi Missile Fired Towards Madinah

Saudi air defences have intercepted a Houthi missile fired towards the Madinah region, the Saudi-led coalition said, drawing strong condemnation from Arab governments. The Houthi missile Madinah incident happened on Thursday, 5 November. On Friday, the coalition said it had also shot down two more missiles aimed at Najran province. The Houthis deny targeting the holy city. Details are as of Friday, 6 November, about 3 PM PKT.

What happened in the Houthi missile Madinah attack

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki announced the interception on X. “Air defence intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the Medina region,” he wrote, according to Al Jazeera.

Minutes earlier, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency had issued a danger warning for Yanbu governorate. The alert was later lifted. Yanbu is a major oil export port on the Red Sea. It is the end point of the kingdom’s East-West pipeline, which has carried much of Saudi crude since the Iran war began in February.

The coalition also said it downed a Houthi drone over the Eastern Province on the same day, The Express Tribune reported.

Houthis reject the claim

The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, firmly denied aiming at Madinah. Military spokesman Yahya Saree called the accusation a lie. “Our operations target only oil facilities and military bases,” he wrote on X.

Saudi Arabia has accused the group several times in recent weeks of targeting areas near Makkah and Madinah. Each time, the Houthis have rejected the charge. Independent confirmation of the missile’s intended target was not available.

Arab states condemn the attempt

Several governments quickly condemned the incident. Qatar’s foreign ministry called it “a blatant provocation of Muslims, a reckless disregard for civilian lives”. It also described it as a breach of Saudi sovereignty and international law.

Kuwait said the continued attacks were a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. Similarly, Bahrain said targeting Madinah threatened visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque and offended Muslims worldwide. It urged the UN Security Council to take firm action to stop the attacks. Jordan also expressed full solidarity with the kingdom.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office has condemned earlier Houthi attacks on the Makkah and Madinah regions, most recently in late October. At the time of writing, Global News 47 could not find a new Pakistani statement on Thursday’s incident.

More missiles over Najran on Friday

The attacks continued on Friday. The coalition said it intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Najran, near the Yemeni border, Arab News reported. “Debris fell as a result of the interception, and damage is being assessed,” al-Malki said. Saudi civil defence briefly issued an alert for the area before lifting it.

Saudi Arabia denies $51bn report

Meanwhile, Riyadh rejected a Wall Street Journal report on peace contacts. The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said the kingdom had asked the Houthis what it would take to halt the fighting. According to the report, the group demanded $51bn and official recognition as Yemen’s rulers.

Saudi official Rayed Krimly “categorically” denied this. “All of this is pure fabrication by the writers or their alleged sources,” he wrote on X, as quoted by Dawn. He added that Yemen has a recognised government.

How the conflict escalated

The renewed fighting is linked to the wider Middle East war. That war began on 28 February, when the United States and Israel struck Iran. Then, in July, the Houthis allowed an Iranian aircraft to land, defying Saudi control over Yemen’s airspace. The strikes and counter-strikes that followed unravelled a 2022 truce.

Since then, the group has announced a sea blockade of Saudi Arabia and struck airports, tankers and energy sites. At the same time, Yemeni government forces launched an offensive on 5 October. They claim major gains, which Al Jazeera could not independently verify.

What comes next

Analysts at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies say the war is turning into a long conflict of attrition. In addition, Turkiye’s parliament ratified a joint defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on Thursday, adding a new layer to regional security. For now, Saudi cities near Yemen remain on alert for further strikes.