Service suspended at a Saudi airport after attack claimed by Houthis

Operations at Najran Airport near Yemeni border indefinitely on hold after reported radar damage, as fighting between Riyadh and Iran-backed rebels continues to escalate

SANAA, Yemen — Operations were suspended on Tuesday at an airport in Saudi Arabia, a regional source with knowledge of the matter said, after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they had attacked the site.

Last month, the Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of crude, and has since claimed several attacks on oil tankers and infrastructure.

Saudi Arabia has retaliated with strikes targeting Houthi positions.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree on Tuesday said the rebels “successfully targeted a sensitive target belonging to the Saudi enemy at Najran Airport using a drone.”

He added that the strike on the southern airport was “in response to the Saudi enemy’s violation of airspace over the Saada and Hajjah governorates using drones.”

The source told AFP that the airport’s main radar was hit, affecting operations.

The airport website listed as “unknown” the status of flights scheduled for the next few days.

Saudi Arabia has not, so far, issued any comment on the claimed attack.

The small airport is located near the Yemeni border and has a single terminal handling a few flights per day.

Fighting erupted last month, marking the first time that Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have traded heavy fire since a 2022 truce.

A Saudi-led military coalition had been at war with the Houthis since 2015, after the rebels seized the capital Sanaa and forced out the internationally recognized government.

The renewed hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis are an example of how the war between the US and Iran has spread.

Saudi Arabia was reportedly gearing up for a major offensive against the Houthis, The Guardian reported on Thursday, as Saudi forces were reportedly seen withdrawing from eastern Yemen in what may signal preparations for a ground attack.

The report came just two days after Reuters reported, citing regional sources familiar with the matter, that the Houthis were considering imposing fees on commercial ships sailing through the southern Red Sea amid the group’s ongoing maritime blockade.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.