Houthis Keep Striking Riyadh Airport While Saudi Forces Intercept Missiles

Yemen’s Houthi forces have maintained a sustained campaign of missile and projectile strikes against King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, forcing the facility that serves a city of roughly eight million people to remain closed into its second week of disruption.

Saudi authorities reported that one person died and 11 were wounded in a strike on Sunday that hit Terminal 4 and started a fire. That followed Saturday’s attack, which the General Authority of Civil Aviation said killed 13 people and injured more than 300. The dead on Saturday included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, and one citizen each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. An earlier strike on Thursday killed three Saudis, including a pilot.

The cumulative toll at the airport alone has reached at least 18 dead and more than 320 wounded across the week, according to Saudi civil aviation and military statements. The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen described the Saturday assault as a “full-fledged war crime” and said it would respond under customary international humanitarian law.

On Monday the coalition said its forces intercepted and destroyed three Houthi ballistic missiles: one headed toward Riyadh and two aimed at Khamis Mushait in the southwest. Residents of the capital reported loud explosions after receiving text alerts of an aerial threat. The Houthis claimed responsibility for targeting the airport and a military base.

A notice to airmen indicated the airport would stay shut at least until 17 October. Hundreds of flights have been diverted or cancelled. Schools in Riyadh shifted to remote learning for a week. Conferences scheduled in the capital proceeded, though many international attendees could not reach the city.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree issued repeated warnings to airlines and passengers against using Saudi airports or airspace, stating that the group had “shut down” Riyadh’s main international gateway. The group has also claimed strikes on Dammam airport and Aramco facilities.

The attacks mark the most intense cross-border campaign against Saudi territory since the earlier phases of the Yemen war. They have exposed limits in the kingdom’s layered air-defence network even as the Saudi-led coalition continues air operations against Houthi positions inside Yemen. The Houthis control large parts of northern and western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, and receive support from Iran.

Saudi officials have not detailed the exact munitions used in every strike, though coalition statements refer to ballistic missiles and unidentified projectiles. Footage circulating from the Saturday attack showed a blast collapsing part of a terminal ceiling while passengers waited. One Pakistani resident died in the Sunday incident.

The airport closure has immediate effects on passenger traffic, cargo and business travel. Riyadh hosts major government and private institutions; prolonged shutdowns raise costs for airlines that must reroute through Jeddah, Dammam or regional hubs outside the kingdom. Medical and consular assistance for the wounded foreigners has involved multiple embassies.

No public evidence has emerged of a broader ceasefire negotiation linked to these particular strikes. The Saudi-led coalition has stated that it will continue defensive and offensive operations as required. Houthi statements frame the airport attacks as retaliation for Saudi airstrikes and the ongoing siege dynamics around Yemeni cities such as Taiz.

The sequence began earlier in the week with strikes on Abha and other southern airports that killed additional civilians. By mid-October the pattern had shifted decisively toward Riyadh’s primary international facility. Coalition interceptions on Monday reduced the immediate risk of further ground impacts, yet the airport remains closed and the threat has not been eliminated.

For residents of Riyadh the practical consequences include cancelled travel plans, delayed commercial shipments and heightened security alerts. For the wider region the sustained ability of Houthi forces to reach the Saudi capital with missiles that either hit or require interception demonstrates a capability that previous years of conflict had not fully neutralised. The death toll and the closure of a major Gulf hub are the measurable outcomes so far.