Saudi Civil Defence on Thursday (September 24, 2026) issued a brief series of alerts including one for Mecca city, home to Islam’s holiest sites, in warnings that usually indicate a potential missile or drone threat.

“A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Mecca City to alert of a potential danger,” it said, with separate warnings for the Red Sea governorate of Yanbu as well as the Taif, Jeddah and Tabuk regions.

The alerts were lifted a few minutes later. In recent weeks, alerts have often preceded attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

Last week, Riyadh accused the group of targeting Mecca for the first time since 2017 with a drone that was downed, an accusation the Houthis have denied.

A few days later, the group attacked the Saudi capital Riyadh for the first time in years, marking a new escalation in the conflict.

The Houthis, at war with a Saudi-led coalition that has propped up the internationally-recognised Yemeni government since 2015, has ramped up its attacks against the kingdom, embroiling Yemen in the Middle East war.

Earlier this month, the Houthis seized control of strategic coastal areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab strait, vital for Saudi oil exports, after capturing territory from Saudi-backed government forces.

In July, a fragile 2022 truce between the Houthis and the government fell apart after the group allowed an Iranian plane to land in Sanaa in defiance of Riyadh’s control over Yemeni airspace, setting off a spate of attacks.

They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its tankers and territory.

The Houthi gains cement the hold of Iran and its allies on the two waterways that the wider Gulf, including top crude exporter Saudi Arabia, relies on to ship out its oil.

Ship traffic through Bab el-Mandeb fell on Sunday (July 26, 2026) after Yemeni Houthis attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast, while transit through the Strait of Hormuz stayed low over the weekend, shipping data from Kpler showed on Monday (July 27, 2026).

Eleven commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Sunday (July 26, 2026), the lowest level in months, the data showed.

Red Sea traffic has been disrupted off the coast of Yemen since last week by the Iran-aligned Houthis, who want to blockade Saudi exports, expanding the U.S.-Iran conflict that has already choked oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz.

Seven of the vessels that passed through the strait were oil tankers, with three of them entering the Red Sea. Two of them are very large crude carriers (VLCCs) heading to the port of Yanbu to load Saudi crude, while the third is a Russian-linked ship, the data showed.

Four vessels exited the Red Sea on Sunday (July 26, 2026). Another ship is exiting the waterway through the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

Lull in Hormuz

Fewer than 10 commodity vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily over the weekend even though the U.S. and Iran have paused strikes in West Asia, shipping data from Kpler showed.

Seven vessels transited on Sunday (July 26, 2026), including three Iranian-linked oil products tankers that exited the strait, the data showed.

On Saturday (July 25, 2026), there were only three vessels that passed through with their transponders switched off.

On Friday (July 24, 2026), seven vessels passed, mostly exiting the Gulf, including two VLCCs carrying crude from Iraq and the UAE and a tanker carrying fuel oil.