Yemen's Saudi-led coalition said early on Saturday that it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and two drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels towards the kingdom.
The coalition said on X that the missiles were heading towards Khamis Mushait and the drones were launched towards the capital, Riyadh. The coalition added that it was monitoring the missile threat and drones launched at the kingdom, without providing further details.
The Saudi civil defence had sent alerts overnight for Khamis Mushait and Abha, but not for Riyadh.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been carrying out attacks on Saudi Arabia since declaring a maritime blockade against the kingdom in July, with strikes against Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.
The attacks have been aimed at Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping. They have added to pressure on global oil supplies caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran and have put at risk the Red Sea route for Gulf exports, while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.
Gulf Co-operation Council Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi strongly condemned Houthi missile and drone attacks against the Saudi cities of Riyadh and Khamis Mushait, calling the escalation a serious breach of the kingdom’s sovereignty and a direct threat to the safety of civilians and regional stability.
Mr Al Budaiwi said GCC member states stand united with Saudi Arabia and fully support any measures it takes to protect its security, sovereignty and territorial integrity. He called on the international community to take a firm stance to end repeated Houthi attacks.
Hours earlier, the military chiefs of Saudi Arabia and defence allies Pakistan and Turkey reviewed threats facing the kingdom at a meeting in the Saudi capital.
The three countries last month signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, saying they would regard an armed attack on any of them to be an attack on all. They said the pact aimed to strengthen collective deterrence and military co-operation.
Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said early on Saturday that he had met Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Riyadh and discussed continued joint efforts to confront attacks against the kingdom in accordance with the pact.
The two officials welcomed the outcomes of a meeting of military chiefs held under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement and discussed attacks against Makkah, as well as Saudi civilian and economic infrastructure, Prince Khalid said.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told the UN General Assembly on Friday that any attack on the holy cities of Makkah or Madinah would represent a “red line”. Saudi Arabia’s air defence systems destroyed a Houthi drone south of Makkah before it entered prohibited airspace over the city last week.
Mr Sharif said any “threat to the safety and sanctity of the Haramain Sharifain”, the two most sacred mosques in Islam, was "a red line that must never be crossed”.
“No Muslim can even dare to think of committing such a heinous crime,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rashad Al Alimi, the head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, announced a general mobilisation in the fight against Houthi rebels on Friday, urging Yemenis to join the armed forces and “contribute in every way possible” to the struggle for power.
“I call upon the sons of our great people to engage in general mobilisation and national duty, to rally around their armed and security forces, to join their ranks through official channels, and to contribute in every way possible,” said Mr Al Alimi.
With reporting from Reuters
