Attacks on Riyadh’s international airport killed 3 Saudi citizens, and other Mideast developments

Saudi Arabia’s aviation authorities said Friday that attacks targeting the international airport in Riyadh and an aircraft there the previous day killed three Saudi citizens.

Residents of Yemen’s capital reported explosions, and Lebanon reported a drone strike that wounded six people along the border with Syria.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Friday. Read our full coverage here.

Thursday’s attack on the Riyadh airport killed 3 people

The attack on an airport in the Saudi capital and an aircraft there killed three Saudi nationals and injured other people on Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said.

Friday’s statement from the authority did not identify those responsible for the attack, though Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen have claimed they targeted the airport with a ballistic missile.

According to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation, the two strikes targeted the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and a Saudia airlines aircraft. It did not specify the types of weapons used or those responsible.

FlyDubai announced it was canceling flights to the Saudi cities of Riyadh and Yanbu through Saturday and Abha through Sunday. Pakistan International Airlines also suspended flights to Riyadh.

Residents in Yemen’s capital report explosions

In Sanaa, the rebel-held capital of Yemen, residents heard heavy explosions overnight and into Friday as intense fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces resumed.

In the downtown area, witnesses said they heard explosions, but their origin wasn’t clear.

The strikes were so powerful that the house shook and it felt as if the entire structure was collapsing, one Sanaa resident told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity in fear of reprisals.

Anees al-Asbahi, spokesperson for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, said on X that two of the overnight strikes on Sanaa injured six people, including a child.

The Houthis’ military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed Thursday that airstrikes launched from bases in Saudi Arabia targeted multiple rebel-held areas for 24 hours, including in Sanaa and the provinces of Marib, Taiz, Hajjah, Saada, Lahj, Ibb and al-Baydaa.

He did not provide any evidence for the claim and the AP couldn’t independently verify Saree’s claims.

— By Fatma Khaled

Lebanon reports Israeli drone strike

An Israeli drone strike on northeast Lebanon wounded six people, including two women, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.

Five of the six people wounded in Friday’s drone strike near the village of Hawsh al-Sayed Ali along the border with Syria were Syrian citizens, the ministry said.

The Israeli military said it targeted a man named Yusuf Ali al-Hassoun, who planned attacks against Israeli forces in southern Syria “under the direction of the Iranian regime.” The Israeli military has occupied a strip of land in southern Syria since December 2024.

The drone strike was the first to take place deep inside Lebanon since Lebanon and Israel announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, laying out a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

Vessel reports strike off United Arab Emirates

A vessel was struck by an “unknown projectile” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, the British military said on Friday, causing a fire that it said had since been extinguished.

The attack took place 13 nautical miles west of Al-Jazeera in the UAE, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, which did not identify the vessel. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and the status of the crew was not immediately known.

Separately, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed without providing evidence on Friday it had struck a large liquefied petroleum gas carrier attempting to use an illegal shipping route south of the Strait of Hormuz.

The British military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Iran’s claim.

Man says Israeli settlers attacked him and his son in the West Bank

A Palestinian man said Israeli settlers attacked him and his 5-year-old son and stole their car Friday in the West Bank village of Yabrud, east of Ramallah.

Video of the incident shows settlers surrounding their vehicle and both the man and the little boy running away before settlers drive the car off.

Fadi Atef al-Barghouti, 43, told the AP that two vehicles carrying settlers surrounded his car and forced him to stop. He said a settler pepper-sprayed him while he was inside. He and his boy were taken to the hospital and are OK.

The Israeli military said troops in Yabrud removed Israeli civilians and conducted an initial inquiry. It said soldiers received footage documenting violence by “Israeli rioters” and police opened an investigation to identify and arrest suspects, the military said.

Separately, Israeli police said Friday they arrested a 15-year-old suspect in connection with an assault with clubs and a car theft in the Yabrud area of the West Bank. They said the assault and robbery had nationalist motives and that the investigation was continuing.

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.