Amid escalating Houthi-Saudi fighting, Israel prepares southern defenses to prevent Houthi attack via land or sea
Houthi missile hits HQ of Aramco, Saudi-owned oil company
Despite being thousands of kilometers from Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city, the escalating fighting between Yemen’s Houthi terrorists and the Saudi-backed alliance on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula is raising concerns within the Israeli military.
The latest escalation increases the possibility that the Houthis could resume attacks against Israel. However, unlike their previous ballistic missile and drone strikes, Israeli defense officials are concerned about the possibility of attacks by land or sea, Walla News reported on Wednesday.
The report comes amid an intensifying exchange of strikes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with both sides striking oil facilities, including the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s state-owned oil giant- the largest oil producer in the world.
The Israel Defense Forces is reportedly on heightened alert over the possibility of an attack from Yemen, although the Walla report does not clarify whether the preparations follow indications of an imminent threat or are precautionary measures in response to repeated Houthi threats.
Defense officials told the Walla that Houthi leaders have threatened ground attacks, including against Israel. However, it remains unclear how such an operation could be carried out, as Houthi forces would have to cross Saudi Arabia and enter Israeli territory via Jordan, or carry out an amphibious invasion from the sea.
The IDF is preparing to establish a new fire coordination center within the southern Edom Division, train reserve and rapid-response forces in the Eilat area, and improve coordination among ground, naval, and air units. The plans also include joint exercises with the Israel Police and Border Police.
A Houthi missile struck the HQ of Saudi Aramco tonight in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco is the world’s largest oil company https://t.co/gFCeJIr2UF
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 14, 2026
Fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia continued on Wednesday morning, as Saudi Civil Defence issued two alerts for incoming strikes in Riyadh province.
On Tuesday night, an administrative building in Dhahran, in the Eastern Province, reportedly part of the Aramco headquarters, was struck by a Houthi missile. Residents described the explosion as shaking the surrounding area. No injuries were reported.
In addition, four people were wounded by debris in the capital Riyadh after the successful interception of two Houthi cruise missiles. Falling debris also damaged 15 residential homes.
Four additional Houthi cruise missiles and two drones were shot down overnight.
On Tuesday evening, the Saudi-led coalition, which includes troops of the internationally recognized Yemen government, said it had attacked energy infrastructure in Houthi-held areas of Yemen.
Coalition spokesman, Maj.-Gen. Turki Al Malki, said, “It has been established that the Houthi terrorist militia uses civilian objects and vital resources to sustain its war effort.”
MORE: The Houthis are attempting to capture Taiz City by securing a key roadway into the city. Houthi fighters engaged Yemeni government-aligned forces in heavy combat in the vicinity of al Dhabab, on the southwestern outskirts of Taiz City, on October 12 and 13. The Houthis have attempted to capture the Hangar Checkpoint, on the main road leading into Taiz City from the southwest, although multiple videos of Houthi and Yemeni government-aligned forces at the site on October 12 and 13 suggest that control over the checkpoint remains contested. The Houthis also launched several rounds of heavy artillery fire on Yemeni government-controlled areas within Taiz City on October 12 and 13, according to Yemeni media and a DC-based Yemen analyst. These combined military efforts are consistent with the Houthis’ efforts to geographically isolate Taiz City in recent weeks and are likely intended in part to compel Yemeni government-aligned forces to surrender the city. The main concentration of Houthi and Yemeni government combat in the immediate vicinity of Taiz City comes amid continued engagements in other areas of central Taiz Governorate and a lack of reports of kinetic activity on the Red Sea coastal plain. ISW-CTP has not observed reports indicating major combat developments or territorial changes on the coastal plain since ISW-CTP’s last data cutoff on October 12. Local Yemeni sources purportedly told Iranian media on October 13 that the Houthis are launching an offensive south into Madaribah wa al Arah District in Lahij Governorate, immediately south of Taiz Governorate’s Waziyah District. The Southern Giants Brigades, which are a Yemeni government-aligned military faction, announced on October 12 that their forces have begun to reinforce tribal areas in Madaribah wa al Arah District to prevent Houthi attacks in the vicinity.
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) October 14, 2026
“These include the Al Sabaha central station in Sanaa, underground strategic fuel reserves and storage facilities, and dedicated fuel-loading and unloading berths in Hodeidah, Sanaa and Dhamar.”
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, warned Tuesday that the Houthis would face “consequences” for repeated attacks on targets across the country, including civilian infrastructure.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the cabinet said the Houthis “will face the consequences of their crimes and repeated attacks” on airports, the Muslim holy cities and economic facilities.
The cabinet also said the kingdom “will not allow its security or freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait to be threatened.”
The fighting escalated sharply over the weekend, with a Houthi strike on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 300. A second strike on Sunday killed one more person and injured 11.
Several international airlines have since suspended flights to Saudi Arabia, while the Houthis renewed their warning to airlines against using Saudi airspace.
The Houthi-run foreign ministry condemned Saudi Arabia as the “Kingdom of the Horn of Satan” and said its “security, stability, and sovereignty must belong to everyone; otherwise, no one will enjoy them,” according to a statement published via the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the terrorists continued their siege of the important town of Taiz. The Saudi-backed coalition said it struck several Houthi positions in the surrounding governorate on Tuesday.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), heavy combat was reported from the outskirts of Taiz in the past few days, as Houthi forces attempted to capture a checkpoint on the main road into the city while shelling parts of Taiz.
At the same time, fighting along the coast appears to have subsided in recent days after the coalition recaptured areas overrun by the Houthis last month.
You might also like to read this:
