World
• Analysis
Riyadh airport attack: hospitals mobilise and embassies warn citizens as second strike wounds dozens
A new Riyadh airport attack on Saturday left multiple people wounded and operations at King Khalid International Airport suspended, prompting Saudi health officials to order a rare mass call-up of doctors and foreign embassies to tell their citizens to avoid the facility.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 10, 2026
• 3 Min Read
Casualties and the hospital response
The health ministry ordered emergency-room doctors across Riyadh to report to their hospitals on Saturday, in what amounted to a rare mass call-up to deal with what a medical source called a "serious emergency".
"We were told we are dealing with a 'serious emergency situation'. Injured are being moved to hospitals across Riyadh"
A hospital source said five people were in intensive care there after being wounded at the airport, with dozens of people injured in all. Two doctors told AFP that several pilgrims headed to Mecca had been injured while waiting to board their flight.
A relative of one wounded person said the person had been hit in the shoulders and arms by shattered glass. Three witnesses confirmed people being evacuated from the airport.
Embassy warnings and travel bans
Foreign embassies warned their citizens to stay away from the facility.
- •The US embassy in Saudi Arabia said it was "aware of attacks" on the airport and urged Americans to avoid the area.
- •The Canadian, German and Spanish embassies issued similar warnings to their nationals.
- •Spain's embassy, in a message on X, told nationals of a "new attack... by the Houthis".
- •A senior Western diplomat said several embassies had decided to prohibit their staffs' travel to and from Riyadh Airport over the next week as a prudential step.
What happened and the airport's status
The Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed an attack had injured several people at King Khalid International Airport and said the number of injured was still being assessed. A diplomatic source attributed the attack to a missile fired by Yemen's Houthis and said the airport was hit by "a missile around 3:00pm" (1200 GMT).
The same diplomatic source framed the strike in blunt terms:
"Houthis are attacking civilian targets. Riyadh airport is a civilian target."
Inside the domestic terminal, a witness at gate 403 told AFP: "I was on gate 403... I saw 401 hit, I saw injured in front of my eyes. Everyone was running."
The aviation authority said operations had been temporarily suspended pending the completion of an assessment of the damage and verification of the safety of the facilities. Admissions by Saudi authorities of strikes hitting civilian targets are relatively rare, with few statements issued on Houthi attacks in recent weeks.
Second attack in days, Houthis silent
Saturday's strike came two days after an attack on the airport by the Houthis on Thursday killed three people and damaged a plane. This time, the Iran-backed group did not announce any new attacks on Saturday.
According to the aviation authority, operations remain suspended pending the completion of the damage assessment and verification of the safety of the facilities.
