Houthis Claim Missile Strike on Riyadh's King Khalid Airport

The Houthis say they hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile and struck the Khamis Mushait air base with drones. The claims come as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu works through US mediators to win Saudi permission for Israeli strikes on the group in Yemen.

The group described both operations as "precise." It also told international airlines, employees and travelers to avoid flights to Saudi airports and declared those airports unsafe. The airports and airspace of Mecca and Medina were exempt.

A diplomatic source told Haaretz on Monday, October 12, that Netanyahu's plan would have Israel join the Saudis in the decade-old conflict and use that cooperation to build toward a future normalization agreement. Netanyahu had also publicly condemned an attack on the Riyadh airport that killed 12 people. This statement is rare, given that Israel and Saudi Arabia maintain no formal diplomatic relations.

The airport has been hit before. On October 11, a missile struck its domestic terminal complex on Saturday, affecting Terminals 3 and 4. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation counted at least 12 dead and 309 wounded. The dead were four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, one Palestinian, and citizens of the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Sudan. i24NEWS put the toll at 13 after an Indian national died of his injuries.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen later said an "unidentified projectile" had targeted Terminal 4 and started a fire. The coalition added that its air defenses had brought down a missile near the airport. The US Embassy in Riyadh said it was "aware of attacks" and "strongly recommends all US citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas."

The Associated Press reported that Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines had suspended flights to and from Riyadh and other Saudi airports. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesperson, posted a warning on X addressed to "all airlines, shipping companies, employees, workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace."

On October 12, Saudi officials told the Wall Street Journal that the kingdom's supply of Patriot interceptors is running short.