Saudi air defences intercepted Houthi missiles and drones across Friday and Saturday, according to statements from the Saudi-led coalition reported on 31 October 2026. Early on Saturday, the coalition said it had destroyed a drone over the oil-rich Eastern Region, and later a drone launched towards the Southern Region. A day earlier, it said a drone over the Medina region had been intercepted; coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al Maliki said two missiles and three drones were destroyed over Friday and Saturday. It had also reported three ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh and the Eastern Province on Thursday.

The weekend's fighting was not confined to Saudi airspace. Yemeni officials reported ballistic missile attacks on Aden airport and the Maashiq presidential palace complex on Friday, and a Yemeni military spokesperson confirmed the attacks without giving casualty or damage details, according to The Daily Jagran. A police official told AFP that two missiles targeted the palace complex. Aden had already come under attack earlier in the week, after an evacuation warning for its airport.

A contested account

The Houthi account differs sharply. Military spokesperson Yahya Saree denied any operation directed at Saudi territory, calling the Medina claim a fabrication and saying Houthi operations were aimed at Saudi oil facilities and military bases. The Houthis have repeatedly denied targeting Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest cities. No casualty or damage figures for the weekend interceptions were given in the coalition statements reported. The escalation has already had diplomatic consequences: on 30 October the US embassy in Riyadh ordered non-emergency staff and their families to leave, warning of strikes on airports and possible travel disruption. The weekend's interceptions underline how quickly the wider regional conflict can spill into Saudi skies.