Houthis Strike Riyadh as Yemen War Escalates

The Houthi movement launched a series of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones against the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and Aramco facilities in Yanbu on September 19 and 20, 2026. The attacks targeted sensitive sites, including a fuel depot near King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, where fires caused major aviation disruptions. Saudi Arabia reported intercepting a ballistic missile aimed at the capital and thwarting further attacks in Bisha, Taif, Farasan, and Yanbu, though debris from a drone intercepted over Taif killed one person.

This escalation follows a Houthi offensive that seized Yemen's entire Red Sea coastline, including the port city of Mokha and Perim Island, granting the group control over the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait. The renewed conflict, which began in July 2026 after a projectile hit Sanaa International Airport, has seen the Houthis impose a naval blockade on Saudi shipping. In response, the Saudi-led coalition conducted hundreds of airstrikes across Yemen's Taiz, Marib, and Al-Jawf provinces, with Houthi sources reporting 760 total strikes since the escalation began.

Regional tensions have intensified as the United States approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia for deterrence, though President Donald Trump has wavered on authorizing direct U.S. military intervention. The United Nations reported that the fighting has displaced over 112,000 people. Diplomatic condemnation of the Houthi attacks came from the United Nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jordan, and Bahrain.