Footage shared on Telegram shows an attempt to intercept drones over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The source of the drones and the outcome of the interception are unclear, and the report has not been verified by official authorities.
New footage circulating on Telegram early Thursday appears to capture the moment air defenses attempted to intercept drones over the Grand Mosque in Mecca — providing the first visual evidence consistent with what Saudi Arabia and its allies reported as a Houthi attack on Islam's holiest site a day earlier.
The sequence of events began in the early hours of Wednesday, when Saudi air defenses intercepted an Iranian-backed Houthi drone south of Mecca, as The Zioneer reported at 02:49 Jerusalem. The Saudi-led coalition subsequently warned that holy sites are a "red line," while the Saudi Foreign Ministry labeled the launch a "cowardly terror attack" (Wed 02:49 Jerusalem). A wave of condemnations followed from Arab and Muslim nations — including Kuwait, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, the Arab League, and the Palestinian presidency — as well as from Turkey, which framed its rebuke within the context of the Mecca Agreement defense pact.
The Houthi movement, which has repeatedly launched drones and missiles at Saudi infrastructure and airports, denied targeting Mecca. Thursday's footage, shared by the Arab-world news channel '301,' has not been verified by Saudi authorities. The type and origin of the drones remain unknown, as does the outcome of the reported interception. The Zioneer cannot independently authenticate the video.
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Source and signal
- Open-source intake