Egypt Vows Saudi Military Support as Houthi Attacks Escalate

Egypt has pledged to stand militarily with Saudi Arabia as Yemen’s Houthi rebels escalate drone and missile attacks on Saudi airports, oil infrastructure and civilian neighbourhoods, opening a new regional chapter in a war that has already killed at least 19 people and rattled global markets.

The announcement came on Sunday from Egypt’s National Defence Council, the country’s top security body, chaired by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. It said Egypt would provide Saudi Arabia with “all necessary and possible forms of support” to defend its security and stability — a commitment that could include Egyptian troops on Saudi soil if Riyadh requests them.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Egypt’s National Defence Council agreed Sunday to provide Saudi Arabia “all necessary” military support against Houthi drone and missile strikes; el-Sisi asked parliament to authorise deploying troops abroad. At least 19 people have been killed in the attacks, with thousands of flights disrupted.

Illustration: two stylised shields in Egypt's and Saudi Arabia's flag colours over a desert skyline with cargo ships, symbolising regional military cooperation — Illustration: WHAT TODAY?

Egypt’s pledge, in Sisi’s own words

The council’s statement, issued through the presidency, said Egypt “stands fully with” Saudi Arabia to defend its resources, territorial integrity and Islamic holy sites, calling the kingdom’s national security inseparable from Egyptian and broader Arab national security. The meeting drew the full weight of the Egyptian state: the parliament speaker, the prime minister, the defence minister, the army chief of staff, the foreign minister, the interior minister and the intelligence chief were all in attendance, according to the Associated Press.

The pledge followed a dramatic step the day before. In a speech on Saturday, el-Sisi said Egypt would act in line with guidance from Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who visited Cairo on September 15 after fighting in Yemen flared up again — and asked parliament to grant him authorisation to deploy troops and military equipment outside Egypt’s borders. An emergency parliamentary session was held on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera.

The statement did not spell out what form the support would take, and Egyptian officials gave no details. The vagueness is deliberate: it gives Cairo options — air defences, intelligence, logistical help, or ground forces — without committing to a course before Riyadh asks.

The foreign minister had already signaled the direction. Speaking to Bloomberg on the sidelines of the IMF annual meetings in Bangkok earlier in the week, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Cairo would respond to “whatever is being asked by the Saudis” and disclosed that Egypt was “seriously considering” joining the Mecca joint defence agreement signed in August by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye, according to Anadolu and Dawn.

A weekend of strikes on both sides

The announcement landed amid one of the heaviest exchange of blows yet. On Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia and three drones over the Riyadh region and the Eastern Province, according to coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki. A day earlier it announced the interception of four more drones across three regions and said it had destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in Yemen’s Saada governorate.

The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah and aligned with Iran, have targeted Saudi civilian infrastructure almost daily since the coalition announced aerial support for “Operation Dawn of Yemen” on October 5. Saudi airports have been threatened or struck by missiles and drones fired from across the southern border again and again, Le Monde reported — but the intensity of recent weeks marks a new level.

The deadliest blow came on October 10, when a missile struck a terminal at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport: at least 12 people were killed and more than 300 injured, including foreign nationals, making it the deadliest attack on Saudi civilian infrastructure in more than a decade, according to the Saudi civil aviation authority and Reuters. On Sunday, a hostile projectile struck a residential area in the southern city of Najran, injuring six people and damaging three homes and three vehicles, Saudi Civil Defense said. The Houthi military spokesman has warned airlines that Saudi airspace and airports are unsafe, while excluding airspace over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

The violence cuts both ways. Houthi-affiliated media reported that 13 people were killed and 29 wounded in Saudi airstrikes and artillery shelling across Yemen’s Taiz and Saada provinces on Saturday — figures that could not be independently verified.

Why it matters

Three forces are pulling Egypt into this fight. The first is alliance politics: Cairo and Riyadh are close strategic and economic partners, bound by decades of Gulf financial aid and the memory that Egypt joined the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015. On Sunday, the Saudi defence minister also met the UAE president to strengthen cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council’s ministerial council — meeting in Bahrain — invoked the bloc’s joint defence agreement, declaring that an attack on one member affects all six.

The second is money. Egypt’s Suez Canal revenue depends on the same Red Sea shipping that the Houthis and their allies have repeatedly disrupted. Analysts told Al Jazeera that protecting Red Sea shipping makes Cairo an obvious partner for Riyadh — both countries bleed when the waterway is threatened. The October 15 UN Security Council resolution condemning the attacks gave both capitals the diplomatic cover to act.

The third is oil. At least 19 people have been killed, thousands of flights affected and global markets rattled, in the AP’s running tally of the campaign. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter, and attacks on Aramco facilities and airports ripple straight into energy prices — which is where this story reaches Pakistan: the Gulf hosts millions of Pakistani workers whose remittances underpin the national economy, Umrah and Hajj pilgrims transit through Saudi airports, and any sustained oil-price spike feeds directly into inflation at home.

What happens next

Egypt’s commitment is conditional: support comes when — and if — Saudi Arabia requests it. The parliamentary authorisation, if granted, removes the last legal obstacle to an Egyptian deployment. What Riyadh actually asks for will reveal how confident it is in handling the Houthis alone: air-defence batteries and intelligence cooperation would be a modest step; Egyptian ground troops would signal that the kingdom expects a long fight.

Diplomacy is running alongside the escalation. Cairo said it would intensify political and diplomatic efforts with regional and international partners to de-escalate — and on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had spoken by phone with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty about “the latest regional developments.” Tehran denies Saudi Arabia’s accusation that it encourages the Houthi attacks.

Watch the Saudi-Houthi battlefield itself. The collapse of the Yemen truce has returned the country to civil war, with the Saudi-backed government losing ground — Aden’s airport and a government palace were hit in the past week. As long as that ground war goes badly for Riyadh’s allies, the missile and drone war on Saudi cities is unlikely to stop.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Egypt offering military support to Saudi Arabia?

The two are close strategic and economic partners: Gulf states bankrolled Egypt after 2013, Egypt backed the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen in 2015, and Cairo’s Suez Canal revenue depends on Red Sea shipping security — the same traffic the Houthi campaign threatens. Egypt’s presidency describes Saudi security as inseparable from its own national security.

Will Egyptian troops actually deploy to Saudi Arabia?

Possibly, but nothing is confirmed. President el-Sisi asked parliament for authorisation to deploy troops and military equipment abroad, and the National Defence Council pledged “all possible forms of support” — without details. Support could mean air defences, intelligence or logistics rather than ground forces, and it depends on what Riyadh requests.

What have the Houthis attacked in Saudi Arabia?

In recent weeks the Houthis — Yemen’s Iran-aligned Ansar Allah movement — have struck Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport (at least 12 killed, 300+ injured on October 10), Saudi Aramco facilities, Abha and Najran airports, and a residential area in Najran (six injured on October 18) with ballistic missiles and drones. The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepts most of them.

How does the Saudi-Houthi conflict affect Pakistan?

Millions of Pakistani workers live in the Gulf and send home remittances that anchor the national economy; advisories urging foreigners to follow safety directives directly concern them. Pilgrims also transit through Saudi airports, and sustained attacks on the world’s largest oil exporter can push up fuel prices and inflation in Pakistan.