Grand Mosque religious affairs head condemns Houthi attacks toward Makkah and Madinah

Mixed · 2On Sunday 25 October, Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, president of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, condemned repeated Houthi ballistic missile and drone attacks, saying the security and sanctity of Makkah and Madinah are a "red line that must not be breached". 1 2 Mixed · 2In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, he said the attacks showed the militia's "criminal approach" and malicious intent toward Muslims and their holy sites, and called them a flagrant violation of Islamic law and of international humanitarian norms. 1 2 Mixed · 2He praised the Kingdom's defensive readiness and said the attacks would not undermine Saudi stability but would strengthen the determination to protect the holy sites and pilgrims. 1 2

Mixed · 2His statement followed a Saturday barrage in which Saudi air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles launched toward the Makkah and Madinah regions; Civil Defense teams handled falling debris in Wadi Al-Mughammas in Makkah, Al-Nuzha in Jeddah, Wadi Jalil in Taif and Masturah in Rabigh. 1 2 Mixed · 2Saturday's attacks also included missiles aimed at Taif, Yanbu and Riyadh and a drone in the Eastern Region, all reported intercepted. 1 2 Mixed · 2Early Sunday, coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said two armed drones aimed at the Riyadh region, around 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., and a ballistic missile launched toward Riyadh were intercepted; AFP reported three explosions in the capital. 1 2

Centre · 1Gulf News also reported that Saudi forces later intercepted a cruise missile targeting Khamis Mushait, and that the Houthis said they had targeted three Saudi airports, energy installations, a pipeline and an air base within 24 hours, as well as military sites in Aden. 2 Centre · 1Gulf News reported that the Houthis denied targeting the two holy cities, calling the Saudi allegations a "huge lie"; Arab News did not mention the denial. 2 Mixed · 2Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport partially reopened on Sunday, with Terminal 1 for domestic flights and Terminal 2 for international flights by national carriers, two weeks after an Oct. 10 Houthi strike that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. 1 2

Centre · 1Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree warned airlines and passengers against using the airport, calling it a continuing military target, and AFP said it was unclear how extensively the airport was operating. 2 Centre · 1Gulf News placed the escalation in the context of the collapse of a years-long truce between the Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed government, the Houthi seizure of Yemen's Red Sea coastline last month, and the wider US-Iran conflict. 2