Houthis warn of 'major options' as Saudi strikes widen
Shafaq News- Sanaa
Yemen's Houthis on Thursday warned Saudi Arabia that any attack on Yemeni tribes would bring "catastrophic and unexpected" consequences, while claiming four attacks on Saudi targets, including the Defense Ministry in Riyadh.
Should Riyadh carry out what the Houthis called its threat against the tribes, the group said it "will resort to major options we did not want to take," and held Saudi Arabia responsible for what follows. Its military vowed to keep targeting Saudi troop build-ups under an equation of "siege for siege and escalation for escalation" until the aggression and blockade end.
🔴 بيان القوات المسلحة اليمنية بشأن استهداف وزارة الدفاع السعودية في الرياض ومطاري فهد وأبها وشركة أرامكو في ينبع، وتحذير العدو السعودي من عواقب كارثية وخيارات كبرى غير متوقعة إذا تورط في استهداف القبائل اليمنية | 11-05-1448هـ - 22-10-2026م #التصعيد_بالتصعيد #100_يوم_من_تصعيد_العدو_السعودي
— قناة المسيرة (@Almasirah_YE) October 22, 2026
Rival Claims
The Houthis said their four operations over the past 48 hours directly hit the Defense Ministry building in Riyadh, set fire to a Saudi Aramco facility in the Red Sea port of Yanbu, disrupted air traffic at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, and struck Abha International Airport in the south.
The Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognized government gave a narrower account. Its spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, said a drone had been intercepted over the Riyadh area. Over the same period, the coalition has reported only drone interceptions over the Riyadh, Medina and Eastern Province regions, without addressing the other Houthi claims.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar called targeting Dammam's airport a serious violation of Saudi sovereignty and a direct threat to regional security and civilian safety.
التحالف: اعتراض وتدمير 4 طائرات مسيرة بمنطقتي الرياض والمدينة المنورة. https://t.co/SyBNNbCvK5
— المتحدث الرسمي باسم قوات التحالف (@CJFCSpox) October 22, 2026
Fighting Inside Yemen
Yemeni government forces said on Thursday they carried out airstrikes on Houthi positions west of Taiz and in the Misrakh and Shamayatain districts.
Houthi-affiliated media outlets said that Saudi warplanes bombed areas inhabited by Yemeni people in the village of Al-Mahjam in the Hajjah province, resulting in the death of one woman and the injury of a child.
The Houthis said Saudi forces had launched more than 2,900 airstrikes and missiles at Yemen over the past 100 days, killing or wounding more than 562 people, mostly women and children. Neither figure could be independently verified.
The World Health Organization put the overall toll of the escalation at 1,574 killed and 6,939 wounded as of October 19.
The fighting has intensified since the government, backed by the coalition, launched Operation Yemen Dawn on October 5 to retake the capital, Sanaa, from the Iran-aligned Houthis.
