Saudi Arabia intercepts more Houthi missiles as the death toll climbs to at least 18

The missile war between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi movement ran through another night. The Saudi led coalition said its defenses intercepted ballistic missiles the Houthis fired late Monday at Riyadh and at Khamis Mushait, a city near the Yemeni border, and authorities sent emergency warnings to residents in both areas as the attacks were detected.

The latest interceptions follow days of strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the kingdom's main gateway. Those attacks have killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 300 as of Tuesday, the deadliest run of incidents inside Saudi Arabia since the United States and Israel went to war with Iran in February. Operations at the Riyadh airport have been suspended, the capital's main financial district has shifted to remote work, and American aviation authorities have cautioned against flying to or over parts of the kingdom. The U.S. Embassy has told government employees they need special authorization to use any Saudi airport. Etihad Airways said it has cancelled flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, with the Riyadh cancellations running until October 19.

The Houthis said they fired a ballistic missile at the Riyadh airport again on Monday evening. Their channel al-Masirah also blamed Saudi Arabia for overnight airstrikes on the Red Sea island of Kamaran, on the Qanawis district northwest of Hodeida, and in Jawf province along the Saudi border, and claimed Houthi forces shot down a Saudi drone over Saada province. Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on those claims.

One door stayed shut. Reuters reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman rejected an Israeli push, carried through American mediation, to let Israel join the military campaign against the Houthis. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing a diplomatic source, said the crown prince feared a public backlash inside the kingdom if Israeli forces operated alongside Saudi ones, even though Israel hoped joint operations might open the road to a normalization agreement. Formal Saudi recognition of Israel has been stalled since 2023 on Riyadh's condition of real progress toward a Palestinian state.

The fighting is a direct threat to the crown prince's economic program, which aims to turn an oil kingdom into a center for tourism, finance and sport. A war that closes the capital's airport and empties its financial district works against every part of that plan, and it is being fought within sight of the oil and gas facilities the kingdom's wealth rests on.