A fresh projectile strike hit terminal 4 at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, forcing continued closures and fresh travel advisories. The attack followed a devastating missile strike on Saturday that killed 13 people and injured over 300, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to weigh joining the Saudi military campaign.
Sunday morning brought another violent shock to King Khalid international airport as an unidentified projectile struck passenger terminal 4, igniting a fire and leaving one person dead and 11 others injured according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. Air defences managed to intercept a cruise missile in the vicinity of the aviation hub. The new strike arrived barely twenty-four hours after a catastrophic assault on the same facility shattered a decade of relative calm in the kingdom and pushed the regional spillover of the wider Iran war into dangerous territory.
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Saturday’s missile strike proved to be the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade. Saudi civil aviation authorities confirmed that the initial death toll of 12 rose to 13 as severely wounded victims succumbed to their injuries. The dead included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, one American, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian, and one Sudanese national. Among the victims identified by relatives was Buthaina Ahmad Oweida, a 56-year-old widowed mother of four from Syria’s northern Idlib province who had lived in Saudi Arabia for five years after fleeing her home during the Syrian civil war.
The latest casualties included an Egyptian flight attendant identified by officials as Azza Ramzy, 28, and an Indian citizen who succumbed to wounds sustained in the Saturday attack.
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According to Saudi civil aviation authorities, the initial attack on Saturday wounded 309 people, leaving many receiving emergency care at several hospitals across the capital.
Houthi Missiles Penetrate Saudi Airspace
Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the barrage, executing operations that showed the growing range and sophistication of their arsenal. Regional experts and defense analysts note that the group has utilized waves of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones to penetrate Saudi airspace. Among their advanced systems is the Palestine-2, a two-stage solid-fuel missile with hypersonic capabilities and an estimated range of 2,000 kilometers.
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At the same time, the kingdom faces constraints in interceptor munitions. Saudi Arabia and other allies have struggled with limited stockpiles of Patriot and THAAD munitions, leaving key transport and energy nodes increasingly vulnerable.
Colonel Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, condemned the assault in uncompromising terms.
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“a war crime.”
Colonel Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, via CNBC
Al-Maliki added that the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition would respond decisively to this terrorist attack in accordance with Customary International Humanitarian Law.
Global Leaders Condemn Attacks on Saudi Arabia
The strikes drew immediate condemnation from global capitals. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X that attacks by Iran’s proxies are pushing the region into a spiral of violence
and are destabilising crucial global transport and energy nodes.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul firmly condemned the action as a terrorist act against Saudi Arabia and civil aviation,
while UK Secretary of State for Defence Wes Streeting described the situation as contemptible.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that he was deeply shocked by the attack, emphasizing that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are a violation of international law.
In Washington, President Donald Trump addressed reporters regarding the possibility of direct U.S. intervention.
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“We may. We’re gonna look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision — we move very quickly.”
Donald Trump, President of the United States, via CBS News
That prospective alignment follows the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran launched in February, which has continuously threatened to engulf the wider peninsula. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the strikes, confirming the death of the American citizen among the terminal casualties and calling for an immediate halt to the violence.
Saudi Airport Closure Disrupts Regional Flights
In response to the escalating danger, Saudi authorities extended the closure of King Khalid International Airport and announced that schools across the capital would move online through Thursday. Flight-tracking data from FlightAware showed that at least 291 flights had been canceled over a 24-hour window.
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Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a formal caution instructing U.S. carriers to exercise vigilance when operating near or over Saudi territory due to navigation system interference and potential risks across all flight phases.
The Australian embassy in Riyadh urged Australian citizens in the capital to shelter in place as regional tensions mounted.
Houthis Warn Travelers Against Using Saudi Airports
The armed wing of the Houthi movement doubled down on its threats, issuing an explicit directive to international travelers and flight crews under the banner of an airport for airport
equation.
“We renew our warning to all airlines, experts, employees, workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace, as they are vulnerable to attack and have become a theatre of operations for our forces, with the exception of the airports in Mecca and Medina.”
Yahya Saree, spokesman for Yemen’s armed forces, via The Guardian
Brigadier General Yahya Saree added that humanitarian flights into Riyadh could be accommodated only if coordinated directly through Sanaa. As regional partners weigh military options and diplomatic channels, the Houthi leadership maintains that worse consequences await unless Saudi military actions inside Yemen are halted entirely.