Updated

Fighting between Yemen's Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces intensified on October 16-17, 2026, with missiles striking near Aden's airport and reportedly hitting the presidential palace, while the Saudi-led coalition intercepted missiles and drones over Riyadh, Yanbu and the Red Sea. Yemeni government-aligned forces said 378 Houthi fighters were killed or wounded in clashes in Taiz, where Houthi forces have besieged the city by cutting its main southern road, while the coalition said it destroyed Houthi missile launchers in Saada and claimed to have captured a Houthi drone team near Taiz; the coalition also said Houthi strikes this month included 20 attacks on Riyadh's airport that killed 17 people and wounded 333. Saudi Arabia accused Iran of encouraging the Houthi escalation in violation of a 2023 rapprochement deal between Riyadh and Tehran, an accusation Iran's foreign ministry rejected while offering to mediate. The UN Security Council condemned the Houthi strikes with Saudi backing, Saudi civil defense issued and later lifted alerts for Abha and Khamis Mushait, Britain advised against all travel to Saudi Arabia, and the World Food Programme warned that Yemen's "truly desperate" humanitarian crisis will worsen amid the renewed war.