At least two people were killed and eight others wounded in a strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Wednesday evening also marking a sharp escalation in Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia's critical infrastructure.
Saudi authorities confirmed on Thursday that the deceased were a Saudi national and an Indian resident. While flight operations at the airport have since resumed with a separate drone incident at Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield killed a Filipino and a Nepali worker after falling debris ignited a contractor vehicle.
Following the wave of strikes, state oil giant Saudi Aramco instructed employees at its headquarters in Dhahran to evacuate and work remotely. The security situation also prompted the United States State Department to order non-emergency diplomatic staff and their family members to leave the kingdom.
The renewed violence marks the breakdown of a 2022 UN-brokered truce between Saudi-led forces and the Iran-aligned Houthi militia. In recent weeks, Houthis have intensified cross-border drone and missile strikes targeting Saudi airports, defense facilities in Riyadh and energy assets along the Red Sea, killing at least 22 civilians. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for targeting Aramco facilities in Yanbu and military sites in Riyadh though coalition forces reported intercepting several drones over major cities.
The ongoing strikes on key maritime routes and energy facilities have rattled global oil markets, pushing benchmark crude prices above $112 a barrel. Saudi Arabia has responded with targeted airstrikes against Houthi missile launch sites in Yemen, vowing to protect national sovereignty and secure critical energy transit channels.
