Yemen’s Houthi rebels issued fresh warnings against Saudi Arabia’s airspace on Sunday, following a devastating attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that left at least 12 people dead and hundreds injured. The strike, which also killed a U.S. citizen, represents the deadliest incident on Saudi soil in over a decade and marks a significant escalation in the conflict between the Iran-backed group and the kingdom.
The attack further complicates already fragile efforts to de-escalate the broader war involving the United States and Iran. In response to the heightened threat, Saudi authorities kept the airport closed and shifted schools in the capital to online instruction, while international flight tracking data indicated that numerous flights were diverted to other destinations.
Several nations, including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia, and Canada, have advised their citizens to avoid the airport. Brigadier General Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, announced on the social media platform X that the kingdom’s airports and airspace remain valid targets, with the exception of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. “The airports and airspace are exposed to targeting and constitute a theatre of operations for our forces,” Saree wrote, urging everyone to take the warnings seriously.
Although the Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for Saturday’s attack, they had threatened similar strikes earlier in the week. The rebel surge in operations comes just days after a Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive against Houthi positions. Previous Houthi claims included attacks on the same Riyadh airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot, despite the facility lacking military installations.
The Saudi government reported that the deceased included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshi citizens, a Palestinian, a U.S. citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian, and a Sudanese. Local hospitals are treating 309 injured individuals, some of whom remain in critical condition. Among the victims was Azza Ramzy, a 28-year-old Egyptian flight attendant for the Saudi carrier Flynas, according to state-run Al-Qahera News.
International condemnation has been swift. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly denounced the attacks, stating that the United States views the Houthis as terrorists and condemning the loss of innocent lives, including that of an American citizen. The State Department confirmed it is in close coordination with its Saudi partners. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized the actions of Iran’s proxies, warning that they are driving the region into a “spiral of violence” and destabilizing vital global transport and energy nodes.
President Trump also responded to the incident, indicating he was considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis. The UN has likewise condemned the attack on the airport complex, which housed terminals 3 and 4 used for domestic flights.
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The diversity of victims shows war’s real cost. My heart breaks for the Egyptian flight attendant.
Airports should never be targets. How do we stop this cycle of violence?
This escalates things dangerously. An American citizen is dead, and the threats keep coming.