Overview
- A missile strike on King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, Oct. 10 forced an evacuation, suspended operations, and left at least 12 people dead with more than 300 wounded, Saudi authorities reported.
- The Iran-aligned Houthi media office claimed responsibility for the assault and said it had shut down Riyadh airport, while Saudi officials said this was the third attack on the facility in a week.
- Saudi-led coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki announced a large-scale operation that it said destroyed 136 Houthi military targets as ground and air offensives against Houthi-held Red Sea positions intensified.
- Flights to Riyadh were widely cancelled or diverted, several carriers suspended services, and multiple foreign embassies warned citizens to avoid the airport as the US signalled it may consider joining strikes.
- The attacks build on a rapid Houthi seizure of Red Sea coast positions near the Bab al-Mandeb, a move that has raised risks to global shipping, worsened Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, and increased the chance of wider regional spillover.