Houthis Claim New Strikes on Saudi Airports and Oil Sites as Yemen Says Aden Airport Was Hit a Fourth Time This Month

Since the Houthis declared the 2022 truce over in July, the group has moved from Red Sea shipping to direct attacks on Saudi Arabia and on the Yemeni government's temporary seat in Aden. The weekend added another round.

New Houthi claims against Saudi targets

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group fired missiles Saturday, Oct. 24, at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh "in two phases," and at airports in Dammam and Najran. He also claimed hits on a Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery, the Khamis Mushait air base, and crude pumping stations and the east-west crude pipeline.

Saudi authorities have not confirmed those claims. They have confirmed interceptions. The Saudi-led coalition said it shot down two missiles aimed at Taif and Yanbu. A coalition spokesman also said air defenses destroyed a ballistic missile launched toward Riyadh.

Saudi civil defense said it responded to falling debris in the Mecca and Medina regions after intercepting two Houthi missiles. The Houthis deny targeting the two holiest cities in Islam and call the Saudi claim a "huge lie." Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi called the attacks "heinous" and said they showed "a blatant disregard for the lives and security of civilians."

Aden under repeated fire

Yemen's Ministry of Transport said the Houthis hit Aden international airport with two ballistic missiles on Saturday. It called that the "fourth such attack this month" and warned of a threat to civil aviation. Yemeni authorities said the coast guard headquarters and a second coast guard building were also struck.

The Houthis described their targets differently. Saree said the group hit the al-Nasr camp and the naval base in Aden, both of which he said were under Saudi supervision.

The pattern is not new. A missile strike on the presidential palace complex on Oct. 15 killed five people and wounded 16, according to Yemeni officials. Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani was unharmed. The Houthis said they were aiming at a Saudi operations headquarters inside the compound.

Casualty claims and a deadly misfire

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said Saudi-led air strikes killed civilians in Sanaa and near Hodeidah: at least four in a house in Sanaa, eight in a residential building for cement factory workers, and five from one family outside Hodeidah. That is 17 dead by the broadcaster's count. Saudi Arabia has not claimed or commented on the alleged raids, and the figures are unverified.

Yemen's army said a Houthi missile that malfunctioned fell on a family home in Houthi-held Sanaa on Friday and killed three people. The army said it was one of several Houthi missile malfunctions in recent weeks.

Earlier numbers show the scale. The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said at least 20 people were killed and 356 injured in attacks on Saudi airports between Oct. 6 and Oct. 11. The deadliest, at King Khalid airport on Oct. 10, killed at least 12 people, including an American citizen.

On Oct. 19, a Houthi missile struck a security recruit training center near Ataq in Shabwa province. Local authorities said it killed more than 70 people and wounded more than 200. Yemen's Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani called it a war crime and said the site was a training center, not a target tied to active combat.

The Houthi-run health ministry counted 141 killed and 395 wounded from Sept. 3 through Oct. 18. The UN has warned that nearly 260,000 people have been displaced as fighting rages around Taiz.

Washington's position

President Trump accused the Houthis on Oct. 13 of deliberately trying to push up oil prices before the U.S. midterms, and said he would "never forget" their attacks on Saudi Arabia. Asked whether the U.S. would join Saudi strikes, he said: "We may. We're gonna look at it." He also said the Houthis "probably" acted at Iran's behest. No source has offered public evidence of that direction.

Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti has warned that U.S. involvement would bring a "swift and painful response" against American interests across the region. Trump has noted that last year's U.S. bombing campaign against the Houthis cost more than $1 billion and ended with the group agreeing to stop attacking American ships.

The commercial fallout is concrete. King Khalid International Airport said it will resume domestic and international flights effective Sunday, Oct. 25, after closing following the deadly attacks this month.

Air India and Air India Express have suspended flights to Riyadh and Dammam until Nov. 7, and to Jeddah until Oct. 31. Whether the Riyadh reopening holds through another round of Houthi launches, and whether Trump commits U.S. forces, are the open questions.