The warning system had been quiet since late September, but authorities reactivated it on October 12. Western embassies had been sending their own missile warnings to staff, though they received no advance warning of Saturday’s airport strike. Former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney said, “The lack of alerts of incoming Houthi attacks creates the very nervousness they are trying to avoid.”
Senior Houthi spokesperson Mohammed al Bukhaiti denied responsibility for civilian casualties, saying Saudi authorities had ignored the group’s warnings about airport strikes. “Why did Saudi Arabia not stop operations in these airports? Why did they gamble with civilian lives?” he said. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport remains closed until 21:00 GMT on October 17 for safety and operational readiness checks.