Houthis Strike Riyadh Airport Twice in 24 Hours, Killing 12 and Threatening Further Attacks

Yemen's Houthi rebels struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh twice within 24 hours, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 300 in the initial Saturday assault, then hitting Terminal 4 with a second projectile on Sunday. The Saturday attack, one of the deadliest to reach the Saudi capital, left the airport closed and drew condemnation from the United Nations, the European Union, Pakistan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called for terrorism to be "confronted with resolve."

The Houthis followed the attacks with a direct warning to travelers and airlines to stay away from Saudi airports, threatening harder retaliation if Saudi-led coalition strikes in Yemen continue. On Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition confirmed a ballistic missile struck Passenger Hall No. 4, triggering a large fire that authorities worked to contain, and said air defenses intercepted and destroyed a separate loitering cruise missile near the airport in the same window.

On the ground in Yemen, the Royal Saudi Air Force conducted airstrikes targeting Houthi positions around Taiz, while unconfirmed reports indicated Houthi fighters had entered the western outskirts of the city and seized the Al-Hanjar checkpoint. The back-to-back strikes on Riyadh's main civilian airport have raised urgent questions about Saudi Arabia's ability to defend critical infrastructure and sharpened fears of a wider war drawing in the United States, with the Trump administration publicly weighing its response.