On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Yemen’s Houthis claimed attacks on Saudi targets and government-held areas as Saudi-led coalition forces intercepted missiles and fighting intensified around strategic coastal territory. Yemen’s Transport Ministry said Houthi rebels targeted Aden International Airport with two ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones. The group said it had aimed at a military base inside the airport complex.
One missile landed near the Aden runway minutes before a flight from Cairo was due to arrive. Authorities cancelled the landing and diverted the aircraft to Jeddah, while staff moved two planes on the runway away over fears of further strikes. Aden is the main international gateway for parts of Yemen outside Houthi control and the interim capital of the internationally recognized government.
Airport Claims and Interceptions
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had fired missiles at a Saudi military supply convoy that arrived at Camp Badr, near Aden airport. “Our armed forces fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi military supply convoy that had arrived at Camp Badr, near the airport,” he said.
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile north of Riyadh and was tracking its launch platform over Houthi-controlled Sanaa. The coalition said it would destroy the platform but gave no details of casualties or damage. Saree separately claimed the Houthis had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile, saying on X that the strike “led to a disruption of air traffic.” Coalition forces said they intercepted the missile. Saudi authorities didn’t immediately confirm an airport attack or publicly acknowledge reported airspace closures; Flightradar24 recorded frequent temporary closures of the airport’s airspace, according to one report.
The coalition also said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Saree claimed attacks on Abha International Airport and an airbase in Khamis Mushait, saying the Houthis had “hit their targets accurately.” It wasn’t immediately clear whether that claim referred to the missile the coalition said it intercepted. The Houthis had also claimed missile and drone attacks on several Saudi sites on Tuesday.
Fighting Around the Red Sea Route
Earlier in the week, the internationally recognized Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia, began a counteroffensive to retake Red Sea coastal territory the Houthis seized the previous month. The government said the campaign aims to retake all territory lost to the group. Government forces, supported by Saudi-led coalition air power, launched the offensive near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait shipping route and the city of Mokha.
Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies said they retook the Arabian Gulf side of the strait and Mokha on Monday. Houthi channels denied losing Mokha and posted videos of fighters inside the city; other reports and open-source information appeared to corroborate that account. Military sources from both sides told AFP there had been no major changes on the ground. The competing claims couldn’t be independently verified as fighting moved quickly and journalists had limited access.
The coalition accuses Iran of arming, training and funding the Houthis. The Houthis deny being part of Iran’s Middle East proxy network and say they develop their own weapons; Tehran also rejects the allegations. The group seized Sanaa in 2014, and Saudi Arabia has led an international coalition fighting it since 2015 in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
Civilian Toll and Aid Emergency
New clashes in western Yemen killed at least 62 combatants on Wednesday, including 37 Houthis, military sources from both sides told AFP. Another report cited sources who said more than 270 government troops and Houthi fighters had been killed across the country over the previous day. Saba reported that a Houthi missile struck government-held Taiz and wounded five civilians. Taiz resident Al-Fateh al-Eisaei told AFP the missile landed “in the middle of the street, right in an area crowded with civilians.”
The United Nations said more than 200,000 people had been displaced inside Yemen amid the latest escalation. The World Health Organization said 959 people were killed and 4,207 wounded across Yemen between Aug. 6 and Oct. 2, citing figures from Yemen’s Ministry of Health and Population. The WHO said cholera cases had tripled in three weeks, with 94% of recent cases in five governorates hosting many displaced people.
The WHO said it urgently needed $31 million to expand its health response and was seeking another $700,000 for people who fled to Djibouti. Its representative in Yemen, Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain, said health needs were rising while resources were severely stretched. The agency reported shortages of surgical supplies, anesthetics, blood-bank stocks and fuel, and said emergency maternity services had been suspended in Marib and Ras Al-Arah. Renewed violence has also affected regional shipping routes and world energy markets, according to one report.