MAKKAH: The head of Islam’s holiest sites on Sunday condemned repeated ballistic missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia toward Makkah and Madinah, warning that the security and sanctity of the Two Holy Mosques remain a “red line that must not be breached.”
Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, president of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, said the persistent assaults reveal the militia’s “criminal approach” and malicious intent toward Muslims and their sacred places. In a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, Al-Sudais described the strikes as a flagrant violation of the Sharia law — which commands the protection of sacred sites — as well as an affront to international humanitarian norms.
His rebuke followed a heavy wave of cross-border fire Saturday, when Saudi air defenses intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward the Makkah and Madinah regions. The Saudi General Directorate of Civil Defense said response teams handled falling debris across several western localities, including Wadi Al-Mughammas in Makkah, the Al-Nuzha neighborhood in Jeddah, Wadi Jalil in Taif, and the Masturah Center in Rabigh.
Military defenses remained on high alert into early Sunday as Houthis launched armed drones targeting Riyadh region, — one shortly past 1 a.m. and a second around 5 a.m., both of which were intercepted and destroyed, according to Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Malki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.
Shortly after 6 a.m., the Saudi Civil Defense sounded an alarm, warning of an “aerial threat” targeting the capital city.
The overnight drone incursions extended a wide-ranging barrage on Saturday that saw Saudi air defense batteries destroy two ballistic missiles aimed at Taif and Yanbu, an incoming missile bound for Riyadh, and an aerial drone in the Eastern Region.
Despite the renewed strikes, authorities moved forward Sunday with the partial reopening of Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, resuming limited service two weeks after an Oct. 10 Houthi strike killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. Airport officials announced that Terminal 1 had reopened for domestic travel and Terminal 2 for international flights by national carriers, while advising passengers to confirm itineraries before departing for the airport.
Al-Sudais commended the Kingdom’s defensive readiness, declaring that the aggression would not undermine Saudi Arabia’s stability but would only reinforce the resolve of its leadership and armed forces to safeguard holy sites and pilgrims.