Ditched by Pakistan, Saudi rushes to Israel for help to fight Houthis

The oil-rich Gulf nation of Saudi Arabia is facing a massive crisis after Houthi militants seized much of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait last week. With Saudi allies, most notably Mecca Pact partner Pakistan, reportedly refusing to intervene in the Yemeni crisis, Riyadh has turned to Israel, a country it does not even recognise as an independent nation.According to a report in the Tel Aviv-based daily, The Jerusalem Post, Israel and Saudi Arabia held talks mediated by US Central Command (Centcom) aimed at helping Riyadh defend itself against the Houthi military through intelligence assistance.The newspaper, Israel Hayom, separately reported that Saudi crown prince and Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) had appealed for assistance against the Houthi offensive from other Gulf states and Egypt.According to the Hayom, Israel was approached indirectly by MBS, who is also the prime minister of Saudi Arabia, via the US Centcom, with requests for intelligence assistance regarding threats to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel as an independent nation, and does not maintain diplomatic ties with Jerusalem. Yet, its outreach to Israel, even if indirect, demonstrates the scale of the crisis Riyadh has found itself in Yemen.Furthermore, Riyadh's appeals have largely fallen on deaf ears. The US and the UK have ruled out direct strikes on Ansar Allah militants in Yemen, and have instead offered intelligence assistance and military advisors respectively. More importantly, Pakistan, which is a part of the Mecca Defence Alliance with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and has a separate collective self-defence treaty with Riyadh, reportedly ruled out deploying Pakistani assets to combat the Houthis in Yemen. Islamabad has instead stated that Pakistani forces could be deployed to defend Saudi soil, but drew a red line on taking part in combat operations on foreign soil.- EndsPublished By: Shounak SanyalPublished On: Sep 15, 2026 15:39 IST