Saudi coalition intercepts missile fired towards Medina

Saudi Arabia’s-led coalition says it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis towards the Medina region, which includes one of Islam’s holiest cities. The Houthis denied targeting the region, saying their operations are directed at oil facilities and military bases; the competing claims underline the difficulty of establishing the intended target.

Saudi civil defence warned of potential danger near Yanbu, a major oil export hub, before later saying the threat had passed. Separately, Yemen’s internationally recognised government claimed it had retaken Sanamat in Taiz after 1,298 operations, reporting about 400 Houthi fighters killed and 132 vehicles or weapons positions destroyed; those figures could not be independently verified. An analyst described the conflict as increasingly resembling a prolonged war of attrition, linked to wider regional tensions.