• Mecca Pact nations reaffirm their commitment to the defence of Saudi Arabia during a meeting in Riyadh, with army chiefs reviewing threats facing the kingdom, according to the Saudi Defence Ministry.

Saudi, Pakistani defense officials discuss response to attacks on kingdom

Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman says he has met with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, following a meeting of military chiefs under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.

In a post on X, Prince Khalid pointed out that they welcomed the outcomes of the chiefs of staff meeting and discussed what he described as “heinous attacks” targeting the holy city of Mecca and the kingdom’s civilian and economic infrastructure.

“We affirmed our continued joint efforts to confront these attacks” in accordance with the agreement, he said.

Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted two Houthi drones targeting Riyadh

The Saudi-led coalition says its air defences have intercepted and destroyed two drones launched by the Houthis towards Riyadh.

The coalition spokesperson announced the interception in a post on X, confirming that the projectiles were successfully targeted and destroyed.

Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted ballistic missile targeting Khamis Mushait

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen says its air defence systems have intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis towards the kingdom.

In a post on X early on Saturday, the coalition’s spokesman said the missile was headed towards Khamis Mushait.

The coalition said earlier that defence systems intercepted and destroyed two drones launched by Houthis headed towards Riyadh.

GCC secretary-general condemns Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassim Mohammed al-Budaiwi says he strongly condemns recent ballistic missile and drone attacks launched by the Houthis against the cities of Riyadh and Khamis Mushait.

Al-Budaiwi affirmed the GCC’s support for the kingdom and backed its right to take all measures to protect the country’s security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He called on the international community to take a firm stance in order to hold the Houthis accountable for their actions.

Earlier, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said its air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed drones and a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis and aimed at the Riyadh region and Khamis Mushait.

Government forces advance in Taiz governorate, recapture strategic mountaintop

Government forces say they have made advances in the southern Taiz governorate, taking control of several areas and higher ground. Among them is Jabal Bazel, a mountaintop that places Houthi supply lines within target range.

These developments point to significant and potentially decisive ground operations in recent hours.

The chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, said Yemeni forces had regained the advantage and their deterrence capabilities and were capable of restoring control over the whole country.

He also warned that as long as the Houthis were able to obtain weapons, the threat of further military operations remained.

Pezeshkian says what is happening in Yemen ‘not linked to Iran’

Iran’s president says that Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi Arabia “must resolve their differences through dialogue”‘ and that Iran “can help resolve the dispute”.

He said “what is happening in Yemen is not linked to Iran,” and that it “stand[s] in solidarity with everyone who is subjected to injustice”.

Pezeshkian emphasized that Iran “will not be warmongers” and that “a brother should not fight his brother.”

Yemen faces ‘massive crisis’ as over 125,000 flee their homes, aid worker warns

A humanitarian worker has told Al Jazeera that there is a “massive crisis” in Yemen, as more than 125,000 people were forced to leave their homes in a matter of weeks.

Alison Bottomley, a worker at the Norwegian Refugee Council, said that many people have escaped their homes with no resources since the escalation began.

“Almost everyone we speak to, they tell us they left in the middle of the night with just the clothes on their back, they took their family, and they’ve walked 10-15 kilometers [6-9 miles] at night to find safety,” she explained.

Due to the number of displaced people, resources are scarce.

“Families have been sleeping under trees at night,” Bottomley said. “People are being very generous, but everybody who’s on the move needs shelter, water and food immediately.”

Displaced Yemenis share scarce resources as funding dwindles

A worker at the Norwegian Refugee Council has described to Al Jazeera the dire humanitarian conditions faced by displaced people in Yemen.

Speaking from the southern city of Aden, Alison Bottomley said half the population needed humanitarian aid even before the current escalation in fighting.

“Eighteen million were facing acute hunger, but the humanitarian response was only 20 percent funded,” said Bottomley, warning that funding remains too low to cover increasing needs.

Displaced people often now rely on other displaced families sheltering in camps to share food, she said. “I met one man and he was hosting 22 families in his shelter,” she recounted him saying that all they have is a meal they share every other day.

Fighting intensifies in Yemen as fears of wider conflict grow

Fighting intensifies across Yemen between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and internationally recognized government forces, with clashes reported in Taiz, Lahij, Marib and Al Jawf.

The strategically important Bab al-Mandeb area remains a key concern, as localized battles risk expanding into a wider confrontation.

Yemeni government forces say they targeted Houthis in Taiz, including ammunition depots and missile sites

Yemeni government forces have reported that they targeted a convoy of Houthi reinforcements on al-Sitteen Street, north of Taiz city, as well as Houthi positions, ammunition depots, and missile sites at the Dhakara and Mawiyah junctions, in the eastern part of Taiz Governorate.

Yemeni forces say Houthis using Iran-supplied air defence weapons which pose threat to civilian aircraft

Brigadier General Majed al-Nazili, the official spokesperson for the Yemeni Government Forces, has said that the Houthis are utilising Iranian air defence weapons that pose a danger to all aircraft travelling through local and international airspace.

Al-Nazili said the weapons were modified with the assistance of experts from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and were being used to target warplanes and cruise missiles launched from Yemeni territory.

“These Houthi weapons pose a serious threat to international flight paths over the Red Sea and operate using a heat-tracking system,” al-Nazili said in a post on social media.

“The weapons employed are capable of attacking military or civilian targets without the ability to distinguish between them, thereby endangering the safety of civil aviation and the lives of passengers.”

Al-Nazili said that aircraft belonging to the UN, humanitarian and relief organisations travelling via air routes over Yemen and the region could also potentially be in danger.

“Threatening the airspace over the southern Red Sea – and turning it into a danger zone for civilian aircraft and passengers – represents an escalation that goes beyond the scope of Yemeni airspace safety alone,” he said.

Using “Iranian weapons from Yemeni territory poses a direct threat to international air navigation routes and cannot be considered a purely domestic Yemeni issue,” said al-Nazili.

“We call upon the international community, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to take urgent and decisive action.”