GCC condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia as Yemen fighting intensifies

Gulf ministers urge action against Houthis as fighting displaces more than 233,000 people across Yemen.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud attends the 9th Joint Ministerial Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Russian Federation in Manama, Bahrain on October 18, 2026 [Fadhel Madan/AFP]

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned repeated attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi fighters on Saudi Arabia and pledged support for the kingdom.

The political and economic bloc that includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates issued a statement on Sunday, shortly after their foreign ministers’ meeting in Manama, Bahrain.

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The statement said an attack on any member affected all six, invoking a joint defence agreement and backing Saudi Arabia’s right to protect itself.

The condemnation came as the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis reported shooting down two drones near Riyadh and in Saudi Arabia ‘s Eastern Province early on Sunday.

The coalition said another drone had been intercepted near the capital hours earlier, but did not identify who launched it.

Gulf ministers accused the Houthis of carrying out deadly strikes on civilian airports and vital facilities.

They also pressed for tighter enforcement of a United Nations arms embargo against the group and urged countries to formally designate it “a terrorist organisation”.

The ministers welcomed an October 15 statement from the UN Security Council (UNSC), the body responsible for maintaining international peace, which condemned Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and threats to Red Sea shipping.

Yemen’s internationally recognised government separately appealed to the UNSC to act against Houthi attacks on homes and state facilities.

In letters addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UNSC’s president for October, Aglaia Balta, the Yemeni government cited an attack on the presidential palace in Aden, where the government is temporarily based.

Separately on Sunday, UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud in Abu Dhabi to discuss regional security, the UAE’s state news agency WAM reported.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, meets Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s minister of defence, in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, October 18, 2026 [UAE Presidential Court/Handout via Reuters]

Meanwhile, Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces press offensives on several fronts.

The Yemeni military said the Houthis fired missiles towards the central city of Marib on Sunday, while government troops reported gains in Taiz, further south.

Government-aligned commanders said eight soldiers died in fighting in Lahij province on Saturday.

Government forces also claimed to have killed 12 Houthi fighters in southern Taiz, figures that could not be independently confirmed.

This latest phase of the war followed Houthi gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast last month.

Government forces launched a counteroffensive intended to recapture territory from the Houthis, who seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

Civilians face deepening shortages

The fighting has uprooted more than 233,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration, the UN’s migration agency.

About 121,000 are in Taiz province, where supply routes have been disrupted by the fighting.

Al Jazeera’s Hadeel al-Yamani, reporting from Taiz, said cooking gas was unavailable and food stocks were dwindling as Houthi forces blocked supplies through the city’s western entrance.

A local office tracking the siege said food prices had risen fivefold.

The World Health Organization, the UN health agency, warned that Taiz’s 12 hospitals had fuel for just four more days and had run out of surgical supplies.

Oxygen and medicines were also critically scarce as the city struggled with a cholera outbreak.

海湾国家部长敦促对胡塞武装采取行动，因为战乱已导致也门超过 23.3 万人流离失所。

2026年10月18日，沙特阿拉伯外交大臣费萨尔·本·法尔汉·阿勒沙特在巴林首都麦纳麦出席海湾合作委员会（GCC）与俄罗斯联邦战略对话第九次部长级联合会议。[法德尔·马丹/法新社]

海湾合作委员会（海合会）谴责也门与伊朗结盟的胡塞武装对沙特阿拉伯的多次袭击，并承诺支持沙特王国。

包括沙特阿拉伯、巴林、科威特、阿曼、卡塔尔和阿拉伯联合酋长国在内的政治经济集团于周日发表声明，此前不久，这些国家的外交部长在巴林首都麦纳麦举行了会议。

埃及将在胡塞武装袭击事件中向沙特阿拉伯提供“必要”支持（共两份名单，此为第1份）。

问题 2（共 2 题）：埃及能在沙特阿拉伯对抗胡塞武装的战争中提供哪些帮助？

声明称，对任何一个成员国的袭击都会影响到所有六个成员国，援引了联合防御协议，并支持沙特阿拉伯保护自身安全的权利。

就在沙特阿拉伯领导的打击胡塞武装的军事联盟报告称，周日清晨在利雅得附近和沙特阿拉伯东部省份击落两架无人机后，各方纷纷予以谴责。

联军方面表示，数小时前在首都附近拦截了另一架无人机，但没有透露是谁发射的。

海湾国家部长们指责胡塞武装对民用机场和重要设施发动致命袭击。

他们还敦促更严格地执行联合国对该组织的武器禁运，并敦促各国正式将其认定为“恐怖组织”。

部长们对联合国安理会10月15日发表的声明表示欢迎。安理会是负责维护国际和平的机构，该声明谴责胡塞武装对沙特阿拉伯的袭击以及对红海航运的威胁。

也门国际公认的政府另行向联合国安理会呼吁采取行动，制止胡塞武装对民宅和国家设施的袭击。

也门政府在致联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯和安理会十月份主席阿格莱亚·巴尔塔的信中提到，亚丁总统府遭到袭击，也门政府的临时总部设在那里。

据阿联酋国家通讯社WAM报道，周日，阿联酋副总统谢赫·曼苏尔·本·扎耶德·阿勒纳哈扬在阿布扎比会见了沙特国防大臣哈立德·本·萨勒曼·阿勒沙特亲王，讨论地区安全问题。

2026年10月18日，阿联酋总统谢赫·穆罕默德·本·扎耶德·阿勒纳哈扬在阿联酋阿布扎比会见沙特阿拉伯国防大臣哈立德·本·萨勒曼·阿勒沙特亲王。[阿联酋总统府/路透社供图]

与此同时，沙特支持的也门政府军在多个战线上发动攻势。

也门军方称，胡塞武装周日向中部城市马里卜发射导弹，而政府军则报告称在更南部的塔伊兹取得了进展。

政府军指挥官称，周六在拉希杰省的战斗中，有八名士兵丧生。

政府军还声称在塔伊兹南部击毙了 12 名胡塞武装分子，但这一数字无法得到独立证实。

战争进入最新阶段，此前胡塞武装上个月在也门红海沿岸取得了进展。

政府军发动反攻，旨在从胡塞武装手中夺回领土。胡塞武装于 2014 年占领了首都萨那。

平民面临日益严重的物资短缺

据联合国移民机构国际移民组织称，冲突已导致超过 23.3 万人流离失所。

约有 12.1 万人被困在塔伊兹省，那里的补给线因战火而中断。

半岛电视台记者哈迪尔·亚马尼从塔伊兹报道称，由于胡塞武装封锁了该市西入口的补给线，烹饪用煤气供应中断，食品库存也在减少。

当地一个追踪围困情况的机构表示，食品价格上涨了五倍。

联合国卫生机构世界卫生组织警告称，塔伊兹的 12 家医院的燃料只够维持四天，而且外科手术用品已经用完。

由于霍乱疫情爆发，这座城市氧气和药品也严重短缺。