Airports attack leaves 3 hurt as life upended in Saudi south

For the people living and working around Jazan and Najran, Monday evening brought a sudden reminder of how quickly daily life can be disrupted. Three people suffered minor injuries and material damage was reported after two airports in southern Saudi Arabia came under attack, according to the kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation, which confirmed the strikes on Tuesday.

The attacks drew swift condemnation from across the region. Jordan and the Gulf Cooperation Council both denounced the strikes on Tuesday, framing them not as distant military events but as assaults on civilians and the infrastructure ordinary travelers depend on.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi spoke by phone with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and expressed what the Foreign Ministry described as Jordan’s “absolute solidarity” with Saudi Arabia in the face of the Houthi attacks. Safadi said Amman backs all measures taken by Riyadh to protect its security, stability, sovereignty and citizens.

His condemnation extended beyond the airport strikes. Safadi reiterated Jordan’s rejection of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including attempts to target the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina and continued strikes on civilian and economic facilities. He also reaffirmed Jordan’s support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government and for efforts to resolve the conflict “in a way that restores security and stability and preserves the country’s unity and sovereignty,” according to the ministry. The two ministers also discussed regional developments and efforts to end the ongoing escalation.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi strongly condemned the attacks on King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan and Najran International Airport, both in southern Saudi Arabia. Airports are places where civilians pass through daily, and Albudaiwi stressed that attacks on them and other civilian facilities amounted to a “dangerous escalation” and posed a “direct threat” to civilians and air navigation. He expressed the GCC states’ full support for Saudi Arabia and for the measures the kingdom has taken to protect its security, stability and territory.

The Houthis, for their part, confirmed that they had carried out missile and drone attacks across Saudi Arabia, including against what they described as sensitive sites in Jazan and Najran.

What remains clear from the statements issued in Amman and Riyadh is a shared emphasis on the human dimension of the escalation. Officials on both sides pointed to the injuries, the damage to civilian facilities, and the risks to travelers and residents rather than speaking only in strategic terms. For the three people hurt on Monday evening and for the communities around the two airports, the diplomatic language of solidarity translates into a concrete question: whether the measures Saudi Arabia takes, with the backing of its neighbors, can restore a sense of safety to a region where even an evening at the airport has become uncertain.