Saudi Arabia reopened its primary international airport on Sunday, restoring flights more than two weeks after devastating strikes launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels forced the facility to shut down.
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh resumed commercial travel through Terminals 1 and 2, authorities announced. The restart came amid immediate reminders of the ongoing danger: Saudi military defenses intercepted a ballistic missile and an attack drone aimed at the capital on Sunday morning, alongside 10 ballistic missiles directed at the southern territory, according to Saudi military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki.
Rebel Warnings and Conflicting Tolls
The airport had halted operations following early October strikes that breached its perimeter. News organizations have reported varying casualty counts from that assault. The Associated Press reported that the strike killed 17 people and injured over 330, while Al Jazeera and CBS News reported that 13 people were killed, including a U.S. citizen, and more than 300 wounded.
Despite the resumption of flights on Sunday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree issued a stern warning to travelers, airline operators, and staff on social media, insisting the facility remains unsafe and asserting it continues to serve as an active target for their forces.
The Iranian-aligned group said its recent salvos targeted multiple Saudi airfields, energy facilities, and a military airbase. Saudi civil defense authorities also stated that interceptor systems destroyed two missiles over the Mecca and Medina regions on Saturday, though Houthi representatives dismissed claims that they aimed at holy cities as completely false, Al Jazeera reported.
Defensive Strain and Border Conflicts
The renewed air campaign has exposed defense vulnerabilities across the Arabian Peninsula. Despite spending $83 billion on national defense last year, Saudi Arabia faces challenges shielding vast borders against coordinated swarms of drones and ballistic missiles, CBS News reported. International shortages of U.S.-manufactured Patriot interceptor missiles have compounded the kingdom’s defensive burden, prompting officials in Riyadh to pursue military partnerships and air support from countries including Britain, France, Turkey, and Pakistan.
Inside Yemen, fighting between Houthi units and internationally recognized government forces has escalated around the city of Taiz. The United Nations has warned that humanitarian relief supplies are running critically low for approximately 800,000 residents trapped in the besieged area.
Regional Flashpoints Ahead of Israeli Vote
The violence unfolded alongside mounting instability across the wider region. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops expanded security operations and barred Palestinian laborers from settlement jobs following a Friday attack near Hebron that left two soldiers dead. Municipal authorities in Hebron reported that demolitions and raids displaced roughly 2,200 residents, the Associated Press reported.
The crackdown comes just days ahead of Israel’s national election on Tuesday, seen widely as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure during three years of regional conflict. Nonprofits monitoring the contest expect tens of thousands of citizens living abroad to fly home to cast ballots in person, as Israeli election rules require.
Meanwhile in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the United States against pursuing fresh military action, declaring that regional changes following the conflict are permanent while asserting that Iran remains open to dialogue with Persian Gulf neighbors.
Whether Saudi air defenses can reliably deter sustained drone swarms over the capital without renewed commercial aviation disruptions remains an open question as airlines cautiously restore regular schedules.
