Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthi group toward Riyadh on Friday, October 24, 2026, marking an escalation in hostilities between the coalition and the Yemen-based group, The Express Tribune reported.
The incident is part of a broader wave of aerial attacks across the Kingdom. Coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki confirmed that air defenses intercepted a separate ballistic missile targeting Khamis Mushait on the same day, according to the Saudi Gazette. These defensive actions followed multiple drone incursions earlier in the week that targeted cities including Medina and the Eastern Province.
Drones and Casualties in the Eastern Province
The renewed cross-border exchanges have inflicted civilian casualties on the ground. Falling debris from an intercepted drone targeting the Shaybah oil field near the UAE border resulted in the deaths of two individuals—a Filipino and a Nepali—and left two others injured, Dawn reported. Additional strikes and interceptions in the Eastern Province and near Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport pushed the toll higher, with the coalition stating that 11 drones and a ballistic missile were intercepted and destroyed by its air defenses.
التحالف: الدفاع الجوي اعترض ودمر صاروخ باليستي أطلقته الميليشيا الحوثية الإرهابية باتجاه الرياض. pic.twitter.com/KKTkdEWLYZ
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree denied involvement in deep operations inside Saudi territory regarding certain drone claims, while simultaneously asserting responsibility for other strikes. Saree claimed that Houthi forces targeted the Saudi operations room at the Badr camp in Aden with a ballistic missile, alongside an assault on military equipment at Al Rayyan airport in Mukalla, Dawn noted.
Disputed Claims and Regional Friction
Beyond the military exchanges, a war of words has intensified over local allegiances inside Yemen. Turki Al-Maliki categorically rejected Houthi allegations that Saudi Arabia had threatened Yemeni tribal and civilian gatherings, labeling the claims as false disinformation designed to deflect attention from the militia’s internal crises, the Saudi Gazette reported. Al-Maliki emphasized that Yemeni tribes remain an integral part of the nation’s social fabric and share deep historical bonds with the Saudi people.
Meanwhile, regional diplomacy faces new friction points. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any interference in the Yemen conflict by external actors such as Egypt would complicate an already delicate situation, stating that Cairo has sufficient experience to avoid entanglement, according to Dawn.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting Yemen’s government against the Houthis since 2015, following the group’s control of the capital Sanaa and other parts of Yemen since 2014.
