Houthis Launch Broad Strike Wave on Saudi Energy Sites and Airports, Lifting Oil Prices

Yemen's Houthi forces launched a wide wave of missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia on October 19, targeting critical energy infrastructure and military installations across the kingdom. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea named seven sites struck in the operation: Saudi Aramco facilities in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, the Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Abha airport and nearby radar installations, the air force base at Khamis Mushait, the Saudi naval base at Jazan, and the Bir Askar radar station near Najran. Sarea described the strikes as retaliation for Saudi air raids on what he called civilian targets in Sanaa and other parts of Yemen that he said killed and wounded dozens of people, most of them women and children.

The scope of the claimed operation marks one of the most geographically spread Houthi strikes on Saudi territory in the current escalation, hitting targets from the capital in the north to the southwestern border region. Earlier in the day, a Yemeni Armed Forces military source warned that Riyadh would not be safe and that Saudi oil facilities were within range, signaling the operation in advance. Oil markets responded immediately: WTI crude extended gains to 1.5% and Brent, which had been falling, reversed course to trade up 0.15% following the announcement.