Missiles strike Aden airport as Yemen's war reignites
Force in Play
Houthis hit Aden's airport a sixth time this month and claim a missile strike on Saudi Arabia's largest refinery, as coalition air strikes kill 14 at a market in al-Jawf
Two Houthi ballistic missiles hit the perimeter of Aden's airport on October 28, wounding civilians and stopping flights, after the group told people at the site to leave. Government forces spokesman Majed Abdullah Al-Nazili called it the sixth attack on the airport this month.
Saudi-led air strikes killed 14 people at a market beside a petrol station in al-Hazm, the capital of al-Jawf province, a Houthi health official said. Saudi air defences destroyed two missiles over Riyadh the same day, and the Houthis said they struck Saudi Arabia's largest refinery at Ras Tanura on October 27.
Why it matters
Yemen's war now reaches Saudi Arabia's biggest refinery and the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the shipping lanes behind Brent's climb to $110 a barrel.
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Key Indicators
14
Killed at al-Hazm market
Saudi-led strikes hit a central market near a petrol station in al-Jawf's capital around midday on October 28, a Houthi health official said. Fifteen people were wounded, among them three children and two women.
6
Strikes on Aden airport in October
Government forces spokesman Majed Abdullah Al-Nazili called the October 28 attack the sixth on the airport this month. Air traffic stopped after the missiles hit.
73
Killed at Shabwa training camp
Provincial authorities raised the toll on October 20 from an initial 53, with 14 people still missing. More than 200 were wounded.
13
Killed at Riyadh airport on October 10
More than 300 were wounded in the Houthi attack that shut King Khalid International Airport for two weeks; the deadliest strike on the kingdom in over a decade.
12
Missiles the coalition says it downed on October 25
Two drones were also destroyed. Debris from interceptions injured two people in Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah and damaged three homes and seven vehicles.
500 m
Distance from Yemenia jet to nearest impact
Missiles also landed 100 metres from the runway midpoint.
$110
Brent crude price
Touched $110 a barrel on October 16, the first time since May, on Middle East escalation worries. Prices rose again after the October 27 refinery claim.
33 events
Latest: October 28th, 2026 · 2 weeks ago
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October 2026
Two missiles hit Aden airport after evacuation warning
LatestAttack
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree told people at Aden airport to leave, saying a Saudi military cargo plane was delivering weapons. Two ballistic missiles then hit the airport perimeter; Yemen's government reported civilian injuries and halted air traffic. A Saudi military aircraft on the ground was not hit and took off shortly afterwards, a police source said.
Saudi-led strikes kill 14 at al-Jawf market
Casualties
A Houthi health official said strikes hit a central market near a petrol station in al-Hazm, the capital of al-Jawf province, around midday. Fourteen people died, including three children and two women, and 15 were wounded.
Saudi defences down two missiles over Riyadh
Military
Explosions were heard in the Saudi capital and authorities said two Houthi ballistic missiles were destroyed. The Houthis said they also repelled a government advance near the Bab al-Mandeb strait and attacked two Saudi military aircraft.
Yemeni officials seek help for besieged Taiz
Diplomacy
Officials appealed for international support to protect civilians as the Houthis tightened their siege of the city, the Associated Press reported.
Houthis say they struck Ras Tanura refinery
Attack
The Houthis said a ballistic missile hit Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia's largest refinery. Oil prices climbed after the claim; Saudi officials did not confirm damage.
Coalition strikes Houthi missile sites
Military
The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed four ballistic missile launchers, a missile depot and five tunnels used to store missiles. Spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the operation aimed to cut Houthi supply lines.
Houthis claim new strike on Riyadh airport
Attack
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the group hit King Khalid International Airport again, hours after flights resumed there. The coalition said air defences intercepted a ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh.
Riyadh airport partly reopens after two-week halt
Transport
International flights resumed from Terminal 2 and Terminal 1 was given over to domestic flights. Operations had stopped on October 10 after a Houthi attack killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. The Houthis warned the airport was still a military target.
Coalition intercepts 12 missiles and two drones
Military
Saudi air defences destroyed a ballistic missile and two drones aimed at the Riyadh region, a cruise missile headed for Khamis Mushait, and 10 ballistic missiles fired toward southern Saudi Arabia. Debris injured two people and damaged three homes and seven vehicles.
Houthis say barrage answers Saudi strikes on Sanaa
Attack
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the group fired dozens of missiles in three attacks on the kingdom, hitting King Khalid Air Base at Khamis Mushait and a Border Guard naval base in Jazan. He said the strikes answered Saudi raids that killed and wounded dozens of people, and that Saudi forces carried out 56 air and missile strikes in 24 hours.
Missiles hit Aden airport, port and coast guard sites
Attack
Yemen's information ministry reported new ballistic missile attacks on the airport and the port. The interior ministry said two missiles hit the coast guard headquarters and a third a coast guard building in al-Tawahi district; no casualties were reported.
Houthis say they hit Aden military camp and naval base
Attack
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the group targeted a gathering of military forces at al-Nasr camp and a naval military base in Aden. The Houthis said the strikes answered Saudi air raids they say killed 16 people in Sanaa and Hodeida.
Houthis claim strikes on Saudi oil sites and airports
Attack
Saree said the group targeted Riyadh's King Khalid airport, an Aramco facility at Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery, crude pumping stations, the East-West pipeline, Dammam's King Fahd airport, Najran airport and an airbase at Khamis Mushait. Saudi authorities did not say whether any site was hit.
Saudi coalition downs missiles aimed at Yanbu and Taif
Military
The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed two ballistic missiles. Saudi civil defence said debris fell in Wadi al-Mughammas in Mecca and in Jeddah, Taif and Rabigh.
Malfunctioning Houthi missile kills three in Sanaa
Casualties
Yemen's army said a Houthi missile fell short and hit a family home in Houthi-held Sanaa, killing three people. The army said it was one of several missile malfunctions in recent weeks.
Missile hits Aden airport again
Attack
A ballistic missile struck the runway in the morning, shortly after two civilian flights departed, Yemen's transport ministry said. Departing flights were cancelled and the airport evacuated; Governor Abdulrahman Sheikh had left the site minutes earlier.
Drones strike Mukalla airport
Attack
Three drones hit al-Rayyan airport, targeting the runway and the airport's electricity administration, Hadramout TV reported. It was the first attack on the airport since fighting resumed in July; no injuries were reported.
Shabwa camp death toll rises to 73
Casualties
Provincial authorities raised the toll from the October 19 missile strike on a training camp to 73, with 14 people still missing. Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Leadership Council, promised a firm response.
Missiles hit Shabwa training camp, killing at least 50
Attack
Three missiles struck a camp for government recruits in Shabwa province, the BBC reported. The Guardian put the toll at 53 killed and more than 200 wounded.
Houthis claim Aden airport strike
Attack
Houthi-run Saba agency says two missiles targeted a military headquarters and weapons depots inside Badr Camp, a base next to the airport.
Iran rejects Saudi blame for Houthi escalation
Diplomacy
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denies Iran played any role in Houthi operations and offers to mediate.
Saudi coalition intercepts missile near Yanbu
Military
A ballistic missile headed for the Red Sea oil export hub is shot down; two cruise missiles and three drones also destroyed.
Missiles strike Aden International Airport
Attack
Two missiles land near a Cairo-bound Yemenia jet preparing for takeoff; no casualties are reported.
Brent crude touches $110 a barrel
Market
First time since May as Middle East tensions raise concerns about tighter global supplies.
Missiles hit Aden's presidential palace
Attack
Strike on the Maashiq Palace kills five people and wounds 16, according to Yemen's health minister. Two of Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani's bodyguards are among the dead.
EU and Gulf states postpone summit
Diplomacy
EU-GCC summit in Saudi Arabia rescheduled over safety fears from Houthi attacks on the kingdom's airports.
Government launches counteroffensive
Military
Yemen's government announces Operation Dawn of Yemen to retake Houthi-held territory, with Saudi air support.
Houthi strike kills two girls in Taiz
Attack
A Houthi strike on a residential area in Taiz killed two teenage girls, the Associated Press reported. The Houthis have largely encircled the city and cut most of its supply routes.
September 2026
Houthis take Bab al-Mandeb coastline
Conflict
A lightning offensive seizes territory overlooking the strategic strait at the Red Sea's entrance.
July 2026
2022 ceasefire collapses
Conflict
Fighting resumes between the Houthis and pro-government forces, ending the truce.
April 2022
UN-brokered truce takes hold
Diplomacy
A ceasefire halts most fighting in Yemen's war for two years.
March 2015
Saudi-led coalition intervenes
Conflict
Saudi Arabia and Arab allies begin an air campaign to push back the Houthis.
September 2014
Houthis seize Sanaa
Conflict
Houthi fighters take Yemen's capital, forcing the recognized government to flee south.
Scenarios
1
Operation Dawn of Yemen stalls, war grinds on
Likely
Resolves by Q2 2027
Discussed by: Reuters and Al Jazeera reporting on the failed early gains of the counteroffensive
Government forces, despite Saudi air support, have so far failed to reverse the Houthis' September gains along the Red Sea coast. If the offensive stalls through the winter, the Houthis keep the Bab al-Mandeb coastline and the war settles back into the attritional pattern of 2015-2022, with shipping and oil infrastructure remaining targets.
Discussed by: Al Jazeera and The National coverage of the coalition's resumed air campaign
A 100-plane Saudi coalition operation and government ground forces could push the Houthis off the Bab al-Mandeb shoreline. Recapturing that coast would remove the Houthis' leverage over Red Sea shipping and open room for a new UN-brokered truce after months of fighting.
3
Yemen's war widens into a direct Iran-Saudi conflict
Possible
Resolves by Q2 2027
Discussed by: Straits Times and The National analysis of regional escalation risks
Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz since March, pushing Saudi Arabia to shift oil exports through Red Sea ports like Yanbu. Continued Houthi attacks on those ports could draw a direct Saudi or US military response against Iran, folding Yemen's war into the wider regional conflict.
Discussed by: Yemen's transport ministry and Anadolu Agency reporting on the Aden and Mukalla strikes
Repeated missile and drone attacks on Aden and al-Rayyan force the government to suspend civilian flights indefinitely, leaving Yemen's recognized government dependent on road links and foreign airports. The transport ministry has already cancelled departures from Aden once this month.
5
Houthi fire halts Saudi Red Sea oil loadings
Possible
Resolves by Nov 30, 2026
Discussed by: Reuters reporting on Houthi claims to have hit Aramco's Yanbu facility, the Rabigh refinery and the East-West pipeline
The Houthis say they targeted the Red Sea export complex at Yanbu and the Rabigh refinery, and Saudi civil defence confirmed missile debris fell in Rabigh. If loadings or refining there are suspended, the Houthis' Red Sea coast gains translate into direct pressure on Saudi crude exports at a time when Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz.
6
Ras Tanura strike disrupts Saudi crude loadings
Unlikely
Resolves by Nov 30, 2026
Discussed by: Reuters reporting on the Houthi claim and oil market coverage
The Houthis said on October 27 that a ballistic missile struck Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia's largest refinery. If Saudi officials or Aramco confirm damage and loadings stop, the war moves from Red Sea shipping to the Gulf export terminals that carry most Saudi crude.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
1 of 3
March-July 2015
Battle of Aden (2015)
Houthi fighters swept south toward Aden in March 2015, forcing President Hadi to flee the city. A Saudi-led coalition began air strikes that month, and pro-government forces retook Aden in July.
Then
Aden became the interim capital of the internationally recognized government, which has operated there ever since.
Now
The war settled into a stalemate that lasted until the 2022 truce, with Aden as the government's seat of power.
Why this matters now
Aden is the seat of the government the Houthis fight, which is why striking its airport and presidential palace carries strategic weight.
2 of 3
November 2017
Houthi missile at Riyadh (November 2017)
The Houthis fired a ballistic missile toward Riyadh that was intercepted near King Khalid International Airport. It was the deepest strike of the war at the time and showed the range of their Iranian-supplied missiles.
Then
Saudi Arabia tightened its blockade of Yemen's ports and airspace in response.
Now
The exchange set a pattern of Houthi missile fire at Saudi infrastructure that persists today.
Why this matters now
That pattern of missile fire at civilian infrastructure continues, now aimed at Aden's airport and Saudi oil ports like Yanbu.
3 of 3
September 2019
Abqaiq oil attack (September 2019)
Drones struck Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities, temporarily cutting about half of Saudi crude output. The Houthis claimed the attack, though US officials blamed Iran.
Then
Oil prices spiked sharply before Saudi output was restored within weeks.
Now
The attack exposed how vulnerable Saudi energy infrastructure is to standoff strikes.
Why this matters now
With the Houthis now controlling the Bab al-Mandeb strait and firing at Yanbu, that vulnerability is back in focus as Brent crude approaches $110.
