Houthis Deny Targeting Mecca as Fighting in Yemen Intensifies
Fighting in Yemen has intensified, and the World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 320,000 people have been forced from their homes by the violence since August 1, 2026. The WHO said almost 16,000 people fled in the past week alone, according to Al Jazeera.
The WHO's count of casualties stood at 11,755 as of November 8, 2026, including 2,098 people killed and 9,657 wounded. More than 2,000 of those casualties were recorded in just nine days, with Marib and Lahij governorates (provinces) among the worst affected.
The fighting has reached Saudi Arabia. The Houthis, an armed group that is fighting a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen, rejected Saudi claims that they targeted Mecca. A Houthi spokesperson said a drone had been launched at a pumping station in Yanbu, on the Red Sea, and that Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport was targeted with three cruise missiles.
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted three cruise missiles launched towards Riyadh, and drones launched towards Mecca and Saudi Arabia's southern regions. Interception means a weapon was shot down before reaching its target. Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence Authority said debris from the interception of two ballistic missiles fell in the village of Sabuhah in Mecca province.
Inside Yemen, the army said at least 138 Houthi fighters were killed or wounded in attacks, according to its spokesperson, Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili. The army said its forces carried out 773 field artillery attacks, 44 drone strikes and 37 rocket attacks in al-Jawf, Marib, al-Bayda and Taiz governorates. It also said coalition forces conducted 23 air strikes against the Houthis, damaging 86 heavy weapons and military vehicles.
The Houthis' military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said Houthi forces targeted a Saudi coalition military command and control centre in the al-Buraiqa district of Aden with several ballistic missiles. Aden is a southern Yemeni city where the government has been based.
The WHO said strikes in Yemen have hit health facilities and ambulances. It also warned that critical fuel shortages are disrupting emergency medical services in Taiz, a city where hospitals and ambulances depend on fuel to keep running.
