Houthi Strikes Hit Riyadh Airport Again as Saudi Vows Response

A projectile struck Terminal 4 at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, killing one person and injuring 11 others, Saudi authorities said. The strike came one day after a Houthi missile hit the same airport complex, killing 13 people and wounding 309.

The Saturday attack was the deadliest on Saudi soil in more than a decade. The dead included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis, one American, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian, and one Sudanese. An Indian citizen wounded on Saturday died on Sunday, bringing the toll from that strike to 13. Saudi civil aviation authorities reported that operations at the airport remained suspended into Monday while teams assessed damage to radar, communications equipment, and runways.

Yemen's Houthi group claimed responsibility for both the Saturday and Sunday strikes, as well as additional attacks on Dammam airport and Saudi Aramco facilities in the east. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had conducted multiple targeted operations over the previous 24 hours and declared Saudi airspace a theatre of operations. The group warned aviation firms and passengers against using Saudi airports or airspace.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it intercepted weapons in areas near key oil and gas facilities and vowed a decisive response. Saudi schools in Riyadh shifted to remote learning from Sunday through Thursday. Flight trackers showed hundreds of cancellations and diversions. Indian airlines extended cancellations of flights to Saudi Arabia.

US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that the United States military could join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. The White House had previously limited itself to indirect support. Trump stated that the administration would review the situation. Iran, which backs the Houthis, offered to mediate between the group and Saudi Arabia. Iranian officials said escalation benefits only Israel.

The attacks form part of a broader escalation in the Yemen conflict after a prior ceasefire unravelled. Houthi forces have targeted Riyadh airport at least four times in five days. Earlier strikes this week killed additional people and damaged a commercial aircraft on the tarmac. The coalition has continued its own airstrikes on Houthi launch sites.

King Khalid International Airport serves a city of roughly 8 million people and handles substantial international and domestic traffic. Its closure has disrupted travel, including for pilgrims and connecting passengers. Conferences scheduled in Riyadh proceeded according to the Saudi ministry, though oil executives were dropped from some event schedules after the attacks.

The Houthis have described their campaign as a response to the Yemeni government's offensive and to Saudi air operations. Saudi authorities have characterised the airport strikes as attacks on civilian infrastructure. The coalition said it was assessing damage from a projectile that fell near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam as well.

No independent verification of all claimed intercepts or damage assessments has been released. Flight operations data from Flightradar24 confirmed the extended closure of Riyadh airport into Monday. The pattern of repeated strikes on the same civilian airport, combined with threats against Saudi airspace, has raised the immediate operational cost of commercial aviation in the kingdom and prompted travel warnings from several countries.

The Saudi response, any US participation, and the outcome of Iranian mediation offers will determine whether the current round of strikes expands further or remains limited to the airport and energy targets already hit. For now, the airport remains closed pending safety checks, and the coalition has stated it will answer the attacks.