Why are Houthi missiles breaking through Saudi Arabia’s air defences?

What the report says

Yemen’s Houthi movement has intensified cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia, repeatedly targeting Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and exposing limits in the kingdom’s air-defence network, according to Al Jazeera. The article says the latest strike on Saturday killed 12 people and wounded 309, forcing Saudi aviation authorities to suspend airport operations and divert flights. The United States and United Kingdom also issued updated travel warnings after the attack.

Al Jazeera reports that the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, have been firing waves of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones as part of a renewed military campaign that began in September. Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted some incoming weapons, but some projectiles have still reached their targets. Analysts quoted by the outlet said the Houthis have become more capable at combining different types of weapons and timing them in ways that can overwhelm layered defences.

The article notes that Saudi Arabia maintains advanced missile-defence systems and has one of the region’s strongest militaries, but it also faces challenges from geography, interceptor stock limits and the need to protect against threats from other directions as well. The Houthis’ arsenal is described as largely based on Iranian-designed systems, though the group also produces some lower-end weapons itself.

More broadly, the report suggests the attacks matter because they threaten civilian aviation, highlight the regional reach of the Yemen war, and show how a non-state armed group can still inflict outsized political and economic disruption even when facing stronger military pressure.