🔴Follow live: Houthis renew threats against Saudi airports as Riyadh attack prompts wave of condemnation
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By: Anaelle JONAH / FRANCE 24 The empty terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh is pictured on March 1, 2026. © Fayez Nureldine, AFP archives US President Donald Trump said Saturday that a deadly strike on Riyadh's international airport was "not acceptable". Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia vowed to retaliate against Yemen's Houthi rebels after the attack killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.
The UN's secretary general said that he was "deeply shocked" by Saturday's deadly attack on Riyadh's airport and called on the Houthis to cease striking civilian targets.
"Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are a violation of international law. These attacks must cease immediately," Antonio Guterres said in a statement.
Operations at Riyadh's international airport continue to be suspended following fatal attacks on the facility, a senior aviation source in the Saudi capital said.
"Riyadh airport has suspended operations again today. They informed us of this at dawn," the source said.
Air traffic monitor Flightradar24 also noted the suspension, saying "the closure of Riyadh Airport has been extended by another 24 hours, until 21:00 UTC today", in a statement posted on X.
Yemen's Houthis renewed their warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom "bore responsibility for failed interceptions"
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
The US embassy in Saudi Arabia said staff working in the kingdom would now be required to request permission to use airports in the cities of Jeddah and Dammam, days after a similar order was issued for Riyadh.
"US government employees working in Saudi Arabia require special authorisation to use the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, as well as the airports in Jeddah and Dammam," read a statement published.
People were seen gathering outside a metro station on the road to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
An ambulance is parked outside King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 10, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from social media video. © Reuters
Schools in Riyadh will move to remote learning for a week, according to an email sent to parents citing an order from the education ministry, following the deadly attacks on the capital's airport.
"Following instructions from the Ministry of Education, all schools in Riyadh will switch to distance learning for the entire week," read an email sent to parents, marking the second time in less than a month that such an order was given.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the deadly attack on the Saudi capital's international airport.
"Attacks targeting civilians and vital infrastructure are utterly unacceptable and pose a serious threat to regional peace and stability," Sharif posted on X, describing the attack as "heinous" and reaffirming Pakistan's "steadfast commitment to Saudi Arabia's sovereignty, territorial integrity".
An attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed at least a dozen people on Saturday was "not acceptable," US President Donald Trump said.
He told reporters he "will be speaking" with Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following the attack.
"What happened in Saudi Arabia's not acceptable," Trump added.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that the United States strongly condemns recent attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He said an American citizen was killed in the strikes.
"These reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life. They must stop now," Rubio wrote on X.
The Saudi-led military coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government accused pro-Iranian Houthi fighters in Yemen on Sunday of carrying out the deadly attack on Riyadh's international airport , vowing to respond "decisively".
In a statement, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki described the attack – which targeted a passenger terminal at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport – as a "war crime" and vowed the coalition "will respond decisively to this terrorist attack".
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