Houthis fire missiles at Riyadh, Aramco tower damaged in Saudi financial district

Houthi forces launched missile and drone strikes targeting Riyadh and Saudi oil infrastructure on November 8, 2026, causing damage to a Saudi Aramco building in the King Abdullah Financial District. Saudi air defenses intercepted two ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles. The strikes follow the July 2026 collapse of a 2022 truce, linked to broader regional conflict following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. UN figures indicate over 1,600 people have died and 300,000 have been displaced since hostilities resumed.

Riyadh missile strikes

• ▪Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Education announced on November 7, 2026, the resumption of in-person schooling in Riyadh after weeks of remote learning due to an earlier wave of Houthi strikes
• ▪Witnesses reported damage to a Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District following Houthi missile strikes on November 8, 2026
• ▪Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport and a Saudi Aramco distillation tower
• ▪Multiple witnesses observed shattered glass and facade damage across several floors of the Saudi Aramco tower in Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District
• ▪Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed Houthi operations struck Saudi Aramco facilities in Khurais, Pumping Station No. 8 in Dawadmi, and military positions in Najran, Al-Jawf, and Marib

Saudi-Houthi conflict resumption

• ▪Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed Saudi Arabia carried out 105 airstrikes and missile attacks across Yemen over a 24-hour period preceding November 8, 2026
• ▪Houthi forces allowed an Iranian aircraft to land in Sanaa in defiance of Saudi airspace controls, triggering the breakdown of the 2022 truce
• ▪Following the breakdown of the 2022 truce, Houthi forces declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia, targeted shipping and energy infrastructure, and captured Yemen's Red Sea coast
• ▪Yemen's Houthi-run health ministry reported that Saudi airstrikes killed at least 33 people near Sanaa on November 7, 2026
• ▪The 2022 United Nations-brokered truce between Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels fell apart in July 2026, prompting renewed military strikes by both sides

Missile interception response

• ▪Yemen Foreign Minister Afrah Al-Zouba appealed to Lebanese authorities to stop Hezbollah from providing military support to Houthi forces
• ▪Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki stated that air defenses intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles
• ▪The Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting and destroying two Houthi cruise missiles
• ▪Saudi Civil Defense issued an early-warning alert in the Riyadh region on November 8, 2026, before later declaring that the threat had passed

Yemen war geopolitical context

• ▪The United Nations reported that more than 1,600 people have been killed and over 300,000 displaced in Yemen since hostilities resumed in 2026
• ▪The International Organization for Migration reported in October 2026 that more than 200,000 people had been displaced since the latest military escalation that began in Yemen in July 2026
• ▪Resumed hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Houthi forces expanded into a broader Middle East war triggered by United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran in February 2026
• ▪Multiple Yemeni officials stated to AFP that thousands of Syrian troops are deploying to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, with initial forces already present