Riyadh Airport Hit in Successive Attacks: Western "Solidarity" with Saudi Arabia and Silence on Yemeni Civilian Casualties

According to Deutsche Welle reports, Yemen's Houthi forces attacked Riyadh International Airport in Saudi Arabia on two consecutive days. The Saturday strike killed at least 12 people and wounded several hundred; a Sunday afternoon strike killed one and injured 11. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation confirmed the dead were Pakistani nationals. A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said a cruise missile was intercepted by air defenses near the airport. The Houthis claimed they had carried out four "qualitative operations" within 24 hours, using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, targeting Riyadh airport, the eastern Dammam airport and two facilities of Saudi state oil company Aramco. Saudi authorities also confirmed the attack on Dammam airport that evening.

Solidarity from Western capitals arrived swiftly. According to Deutsche Welle, U.S. President Trump announced on Saturday that he would speak with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and said the United States would "consider" joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis. European Commission President von der Leyen expressed "solidarity" with Saudi Arabia on Sunday, labeling the Houthis an "Iranian proxy" and saying their actions "plunged the region into a spiral of violence" and "shook key global transport and energy nodes." German Foreign Minister Wadephul labeled the strikes "acts of terrorism against Saudi Arabia and civil aviation"; UK Defence Secretary Stridtin condemned the attacks as "deplorable" and a "dangerous escalation"; the French Foreign Ministry denounced the attacks as an "outrageous atrocity" and conveyed its "full solidarity" with Saudi Arabia.

However, in the same batch of statements, there was no concrete response to the humanitarian toll caused by the coalition on the Yemeni side. Deutsche Welle, citing Houthi-run health ministry figures, said the Saudi-led coalition had killed at least 91 civilians in Yemen over the past five weeks, 60 percent of them women and children. On Sunday alone, the ministry said an alleged Saudi airstrike destroyed a residential home in Sana'a, killing one child and wounding six; the Houthi-run "Al-Masirah" television also reported that Saudi forces struck Sana'a International Airport that day. Deutsche Welle noted that Saudi officials had no immediate comment on the coalition's latest operations in Yemen, and that the figures from the Houthi-run health ministry had not been independently verified.

The Saudi-led coalition labeled the attacks a "comprehensive war crime" and vowed a tough response. Before the strikes, the Houthis had issued warnings via social media, calling on "all airlines, experts, employees, workers and travelers to avoid Saudi airports and airspace," saying these facilities were "vulnerable and had become a theater of operations for our forces," while pledging not to target airports in the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The Houthi-run "Foreign Ministry," in a statement carried by "Al-Masirah" television, said the operations followed the "principle of reciprocity" and warned: "Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come, God willing."

Saudi Arabia has recently stepped up its military involvement in Yemen, launching airstrikes against the Houthis and backing Yemeni government forces to counterattack after the Houthis seized strategic positions along the Red Sea coast last month, including areas near the critical Bab al-Mandab Strait. Deutsche Welle reported that a 2022 ceasefire had frozen the conflict, but no lasting peace agreement was reached; U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran has reignited Yemen's war, aggravating an already severe humanitarian crisis. Deutsche Welle also reported that Russia, as Iran's strategic partner, condemned the Houthi attacks and called for an end to hostilities "through political and diplomatic means"; Australia urged its nationals in Saudi Arabia to "shelter in place." Trump's remarks on whether the United States would join strikes against the Houthis remain, for now, at the "considering" stage.