RIYADH: Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi movement south of Makkah before it could enter the restricted airspace of Islam’s holiest city, Saudi authorities said.
The attempted attack on Tuesday evening marked a significant escalation in the wider regional conflict, particularly because of Makkah’s religious importance to Muslims around the world.
Saudi officials said the drone was destroyed before entering Makkah’s airspace. A Saudi-led coalition described the security of Makkah and other Islamic holy sites as a “red line.”
The Houthis, however, denied targeting Makkah or any other religious site.
Pakistan condemns attempted attack
Pakistan strongly condemned the incident, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif describing the attempted strike as an “outrageous act” and expressing solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
Sharif praised Saudi forces for what he called their “extraordinary vigilance, courage, and professionalism” in intercepting the drone.
He also urged all parties involved in the widening Middle East conflict to exercise maximum restraint, warning that the region had already suffered heavily from prolonged confrontation. He said dialogue and diplomacy remained the only sustainable path toward peace.
The incident comes as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia deepen security cooperation under the recently announced Makkah defence framework, while Islamabad has repeatedly stressed the importance of Saudi territorial security.
Houthi attacks widen across Saudi Arabia
The attempted attack on Makkah follows a series of Houthi missile and drone strikes against Saudi territory.
Saudi authorities said 13 civilians were injured in Houthi attacks targeting Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif on Monday. More than 70 people were reportedly injured in Houthi attacks across the kingdom during the previous week.
The expanding attacks have raised concerns that the conflict could increasingly spill across national borders and threaten key Saudi cities and infrastructure.
The Houthis have also advanced along parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s important maritime chokepoints.
Warning over Bab el-Mandeb
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, warned the UN Security Council a day before the Makkah incident that the Houthi escalation had reached an “extremely dangerous juncture.”
He said continued attacks on Saudi Arabia, combined with developments along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, posed risks to regional peace and stability as well as the global economy and energy security.
Pakistan also expressed complete solidarity with Saudi Arabia and said the kingdom had the right under the UN Charter and international law to defend its territory, citizens and national assets.
Ahmad specifically warned that further Houthi military activity around Bab el-Mandeb could disrupt international trade, commercial shipping, global supply chains and energy markets.
The warning is particularly significant because maritime traffic in the region is already facing pressure from disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz amid the wider US-Iran conflict.
Regional conflict widens
The latest escalation comes after a period in which Yemen’s conflict had remained relatively contained following the UN-brokered truce of 2022.
That relative calm has deteriorated in recent weeks as fighting has intensified and Houthi attacks have expanded in and around Saudi territory and the Red Sea.
For Saudi Arabia, the attempted drone strike near Makkah represents a particularly sensitive security challenge because of the city’s religious status and the millions of Muslims who visit the kingdom for Hajj and Umrah.
For Pakistan, the incident has added urgency to calls for restraint and diplomacy while reinforcing Islamabad’s stated support for Saudi Arabia’s security.
With attacks now occurring alongside major disruptions and military tensions elsewhere in the region, the conflict risks developing into a wider security and economic crisis stretching from the Arabian Peninsula to the world’s major shipping routes.
