Houthis deny targeting Mecca as Yemen fighting intensifies, casualties reach 11,755

As fighting intensifies in Yemen, the Houthis have rejected Saudi Arabia's claim that they targeted Islam's holiest city, Mecca. A Houthi spokesperson on Wednesday denied what he called Saudi 'lies', rejecting the claim.

The spokesperson said a drone was launched at a pumping station in Yanbu on the Red Sea. According to him, Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport was targeted with three cruise missiles.

Earlier, Saudi-led coalition forces said they had intercepted three cruise missiles launched towards Riyadh. The coalition also said drones launched towards Mecca and Saudi Arabia's southern regions had been intercepted.

Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence Authority said debris from the interception of two ballistic missiles fell in the village of Sabuhah in Mecca province. Early on Thursday, the authority said this hostile targeting of civilian objects constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and reflects the dangerous hostile approach pursued by the Houthi militia.

The suspected Houthi missile strikes on Saudi Arabia came as fighting intensified inside Yemen between the Saudi-backed forces fighting on behalf of the internationally recognised government and Houthi fighters.

Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili, the spokesperson for Yemen's army, said at least 138 Houthi fighters were killed or wounded in hundreds of targeted attacks. In a post on X, he said Yemen's Saudi-backed army had carried out 773 field artillery attacks, 44 drone strikes and 37 rocket attacks in al-Jawf, Marib, al-Bayda and Taiz governorates.

Al-Nuzaili also said Saudi-led coalition forces had conducted 23 air strikes against the Houthis, damaging 86 heavy weapons and military vehicles.

Despite their claimed successes on various fronts, the Saudi-backed forces have failed to stop Houthi attacks on the al-Buraiqa district in Aden. The internationally recognised government is based in the city of Aden.

Yemen's Minister of Information Salem al-Awalqi said in a social media post that the repeated shelling by the Houthi militia on the city of Aden, most recently targeting the densely populated al-Buraiqa district, reflects the militia's established pattern of targeting civilians and terrorising innocent people. He said these assaults will fail to break the will of the people of Aden and will only strengthen their resolve to confront the aggression and defend their city.

Meanwhile, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said his forces had 'successfully targeted' a Saudi coalition military command and control centre in Aden's al-Buraiqa district with several ballistic missiles. In a Telegram post, Saree said the facility was responsible for directing and overseeing Saudi military reinforcements across active fronts in Lahij, al-Dhale, Taiz and other governorates.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), casualties from the fighting in Yemen have risen to 11,755 as of November 8, including 2,098 killed and 9,657 wounded. The UN agency said more than 2,000 casualties were recorded in just nine days, with Marib and Lahij among the worst affected governorates.

The WHO said more than 320,000 people have been displaced as a result of fighting since August 1, including almost 16,000 forced to flee their homes in the past week.

The agency also said strikes have hit health facilities and ambulances, and critical fuel shortages are disrupting emergency medical services in Taiz. Despite the delivery of medical supplies and a vaccination campaign targeting nearly one million children, major gaps remain in trauma care, rehabilitation and mental health services, the WHO said.