Smoke rises from a fire at the Aramco refinery south of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 3, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. (Credit: Reuters)
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Two potentially linked incidents took place Saturday in Riyadh and Sanaa: Flames and smoke were seen near a facility belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco, south of Riyadh, while Yemen’s Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out dozens of strikes on Sanaa.
Flames and smoke rose Saturday from an Aramco facility south of Riyadh, an AFP journalist reported. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the fire, and Aramco did not comment.
The flames and smoke reportedly appeared after strikes on Sanaa. The Iran-backed Houthis accused Riyadh of carrying out 26 operations against the Yemeni capital, where loud explosions were heard throughout the day, according to Almasirah, a media outlet affiliated with the group.
“Enemy aircraft” belonging to Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government, targeted the capital, Almasirah reported.
The circumstances of the incidents remained unclear. Neither Saudi authorities nor Aramco confirmed the cause of the fire, and no group claimed responsibility for an attack on the facility.
In recent weeks, Aramco, in which the Saudi state is the majority shareholder, has been targeted in attacks attributed to the Houthis, who have been fighting Yemen’s internationally recognized government with Saudi backing. The Houthis also accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out strikes on Sanaa overnight Thursday into Friday.
Why it matters
The two incidents could signal a new escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, but there was no immediate confirmation that they were connected. The cause of the fire near the Aramco facility remained unconfirmed, and no group claimed responsibility.
Reuters reported Friday that Riyadh was potentially preparing a major offensive against the Houthis, partly aimed at regaining control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which has become increasingly strategic as the Strait of Hormuz has been heavily disrupted by the war involving Iran.
Any confirmed attack involving major Aramco infrastructure could have implications for oil exports, energy markets and maritime traffic, given the company’s importance to Saudi Arabia’s energy sector.
What to watch
An investigation into an attack aboard a Flydubai flight traveling to Israel has described the co-pilot’s assault on the pilot as a “terrorist act,” an Emirati state-affiliated media outlet reported Saturday, citing UAE Prosecutor General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi. The aircraft, carrying mostly Israeli passengers, made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The investigation found that the co-pilot “had begun carrying out a terrorist act,” the prosecutor general said. He said the suspect “assaulted the captain in the cockpit using the emergency axe” and attempted “to take control of the aircraft.”
The investigation is continuing “to establish all the circumstances of the attack and its motives,” he said.
He did not disclose the co-pilot’s nationality. A Saudi source said he was Omani.
In other news
- South Lebanon: The Israeli army carried out a major demolition at Jabal Amel Intermediate School in Houla (Marjayoun) at dawn Saturday and continued demolitions elsewhere throughout the day, including in Tallouseh (Marjayoun), Aitaroun and Beit Yahoun (Bint Jbeil), and Mansouri (Sour). Israeli forces also continued shelling several areas. Airstrikes targeted Wadi al-Hujeir and Bani Hayyan (Marjayoun), as well as the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa. An Israeli warplane also struck a house on the western outskirts of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun) at dawn. Israeli artillery fire was particularly heavy in the afternoon, targeting Mansouri and Wadi al-Salouqi, after strikes earlier in the day on Wadi al-Salouqi, Zawtar al-Sharqieh, Qabrikha, Bani Hayyan, Kfar Roummane and Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
- Gaza: Five Palestinians, including four women, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Gaza City overnight Friday into Saturday, according to the Civil Defense and a hospital official. Israeli media reported that the army was targeting Ali al-Amoudi, a senior Hamas official. The Israeli army said it had “eliminated” two Islamic Jihad commanders in separate airstrikes: Ahmad Mahmoud Harb al-Ramlawi, whom it identified as the commander of the group’s missile unit attached to the Shuja’iyya Brigade, and Mounir Ibrahim al-Masri, whom it identified as the head of its anti-tank missile cell. An official at the al-Shifa medical complex said the five victims were two women and their daughters, as well as a young man. The Civil Defense confirmed to AFP that “five bodies and several wounded” were taken to the hospital after the strike. The apartment was hit by two missiles, causing a fire and “significant damage,” Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said. The head of al-Shifa said two of the victims were Christians. Their funerals were held at the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyry in Gaza City.
- Ethiopia: Forces from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front were leaving Mekele, the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, in large numbers Saturday as federal forces advanced toward the city, an AFP journalist reported. The TPLF has been fighting Ethiopia’s federal army since Sept. 23 in the country’s north. Federal forces had not entered Mekele as of Saturday, according to the journalist, who said “the leaders and troops of the TPLF are leaving the city.”
Israeli army carries out demolition at Jabal Amel School in Houla as strikes continue