Hazem Al-Assad, a member of the political office of the Houthis, in response to the claim by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia regarding targeting Mecca, stated: "The claim of targeting Mecca is an old and repeated lie that has been used before and no one is deceived by it anymore."
Response from the Coalition Led by Saudi Arabia
The coalition announced that it intercepted and shot down a Houthi drone that was heading towards Mecca. This coalition also warned that in response to what it called a "threat to holy sites," it would take deterrent measures. Turki Al-Maliki, the coalition spokesman, emphasized in a statement published on social media: "The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line, and the joint command of the coalition forces will not hesitate to take necessary and deterrent actions against the terrorist Houthi militants."
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Denial of the Claim of Targeting Mecca
Yahya Saree, the military spokesman for the Houthis, also denied the claim of targeting Mecca and stated that the group's operations do not target "holy sites." He said: "Our operations target oil facilities and military bases in Saudi Arabia that are far from holy sites."
The Houthis have also accused Saudi Arabia of escalating attacks against Yemen. Yahya Saree announced on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia had carried out 52 airstrikes on Yemen within 24 hours and claimed that some of these attacks targeted civilian infrastructure, including schools and bridges.
Condemnation of the Alleged Attack on Mecca
Shahbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, on Wednesday condemned the alleged attack on Mecca, which the coalition led by Saudi Arabia holds the Houthis responsible for, "in the strongest possible terms." Mr. Sharif described this alleged attack on social media as "cowardly and heinous" and added: "The people of Pakistan are saddened and concerned by this outrageous act."
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation also condemned this alleged attack, describing it as "heinous." Saudi Arabia had issued warnings on Tuesday about the possibility of an attack in Mecca and parts of the south of the country near the Yemen border. These warnings were the first of their kind since the onset of the Middle East war in February.
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