Saudi Coalition Intercepts Houthi Missile Aimed at Riyadh

The Saudi-led coalition said on the morning of October 25, 2026, that it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Riyadh, the Saudi capital. A ballistic missile is a rocket-propelled weapon that travels along a high arc. The announcement was one of several reported that day in a continuing exchange of fire between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, an armed movement that is fighting Yemen's government.

According to Al Jazeera, the coalition's spokesman, Major-General Turki al-Maliki, said forces had also intercepted a drone in the Riyadh region. The coalition said it had intercepted a cruise missile aimed at Khamis Mushait, a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It later reported intercepting 10 ballistic missiles fired toward southern Saudi Arabia.

The attacks followed a day of Houthi statements. On October 24, the Houthis said they had targeted three Saudi airports, including one in Riyadh, as well as energy installations, a pipeline and an airbase. Saudi Arabia's civil defence agency said it had responded to falling debris in the Mecca and Medina regions after intercepting two Houthi missiles.

Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport has been at the centre of the escalation. Operations there were halted on October 10 after a Houthi attack killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, according to the reporting. The airport said international flights would resume from Terminal 2 on October 25, while Terminal 1 would be used for domestic flights.

The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, warned that King Khalid airport is unsafe and that it serves as a military target. Saree's warning was issued as the airport prepared to reopen for international traffic.

Fighting inside Yemen has also intensified. Yemen's government forces said they had carried out more than 700 operations against Houthi targets on October 24, and claimed to have killed more than 300 fighters. These figures come from the government forces.

The humanitarian situation is also under strain. The United Nations warned that time is running out to deliver aid to 800,000 people trapped in Taiz, a city in Yemen where the fighting is taking place.