The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis says a drone attack on Tuesday targeted a power distribution station in Medina, in Saudi Arabia’s Hejaz region. The coalition reports that one transformer was damaged and taken out of service, but that the wider electricity network was not affected.
The coalition says its investigation and examination of drone wreckage confirm Houthi involvement, and that the station supplies electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque. A Houthi military source, quoted by Houthi-run Saba news agency, denies the claim, calling it a “lie” and saying it is meant to cover up what the source describes as Saudi failure to substantiate earlier accusations about attacks on Makkah.
The dispute fits into a broader deterioration in Saudi-Houthi relations. Outlets describe Saudi allegations of repeated Houthi attempts to target Islam’s holiest sites and note that prior claims about targeting Makkah have been denied by the Houthis. The reporting also places the Medina attack amid renewed hostilities since mid-2024, after a UN-brokered truce largely curtailed cross-border attacks in 2022, alongside Houthi advances in parts of Yemen and Saudi airstrikes.
