Saudi Arabia issued emergency alerts on Tuesday warning of a “potential danger” in the holy city of Mecca, as well as in Jeddah and Taif, as reports emerged of ballistic missiles being fired at the western coast by the Iran-backed Houthi militia. A day earlier, the Yemen-based Houthis had fired missiles at Saudi air bases and cities.
The alert, sounded by Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Saudi Civil Defense at 2:48 pm (IST), urged residents to seek shelter and follow official safety instructions.
Records suggest this marks the first time in recent history that an emergency alert for hostile aerial conditions has been sounded for Mecca, home to one of Islam’s two holiest shrines.
After around three hours, the Directorate of Saudi Civil Defense posted on X: “The danger has passed in Mecca City. For your safety, continue following Civil Defense instructions and avoid gathering and filming. In case of emergency, call (911).”
According to the Israeli newspaper Hayom, the Houthis launched a missile barrage toward Saudi Arabia’s western coast, triggering the alerts. Mecca is located about 70 kilometres inland from the Red Sea on Saudi Arabia’s western coast. “Houthis launch a missile barrage toward Saudi Arabia’s western coast, triggering alerts. The Saudi Air Force strikes Houthi targets near Taiz in Yemen,” Hayom reported.
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The brief alert involving the holy city raised fresh concerns over the widening reach of the conflict.
The National Early Warning Platform for Emergencies warned of a “potential danger” in Mecca, with similar alerts issued in the Jeddah and Taif governorates. Saudi Civil Defense urged residents to stay away from crowded and open areas and seek immediate shelter indoors, without specifying what had prompted the alerts.
The warnings came a day after Yemen-based Houthis launched a series of ballistic missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, injuring 13 people in the kingdom’s south. The Mecca alert was later lifted after Civil Defense said the danger had passed, though residents were still urged to avoid gatherings and refrain from filming or photographing the situation.
The Times of Israel had reported earlier on Tuesday that at least six Saudi cities received alerts from the Directorate of Civil Defense that morning amid what the outlet described as “apparent Houthi attacks.” These included Jeddah, Abha, Jazan, AlUla and Taif, as well as Yanbu, the country’s main oil-exporting terminal on the Red Sea coast.
The high alert was issued even as the kingdom’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman, is in Egypt as part of a state visit. He is expected to hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on “issues of mutual interest between Egypt and Saudi Arabia,” Arab News reported.
The Houthis last week claimed to have captured Yemen’s western coast, giving them command of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The militia has also seized Mayun Island, located in the middle of the strait. With Mayun under their control, the Houthis are now less than 130 km from Camp Lemonnier, the main American base in Africa.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Monday (September 14) announced they had further captured Greater and Lesser Hanish Island in the southern Red Sea, bolstering the group’s ability to choke traffic along another key global maritime shipping route as the ripple effects of the war in Iran grow.
The strategic advance comes as Saudi-backed Yemeni forces attempt to regain territory recently lost near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an important alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has kept closed since US President Donald Trump began bombing the Islamic Republic on February 28.