Saudi Arabia says 2 airports were hit in renewed fighting with Houthis and other Mideast news

Saudi Arabia said three people were injured in the latest attacks on its airports since fighting with Yemen’s Houthi rebels reignited. Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials said an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City killed one person.

Nearly three years after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, conflict in the Middle East has persisted almost without interruption, spreading across the region, including to Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Monday. Full coverage is available here.

Saudis says 2 airports were hit as fighting grinds on with Houthis

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday acknowledged that two of its airports were attacked, leaving three lightly injured, hours after the Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they fired missiles and drones at the kingdom.

The attacks were the latest in the conflict between the kingdom and the Houthis in neighboring Yemen.

Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen's internationally recognized government have launched a military campaign to reclaim Houthi-controlled territory near the southern tip of the Red Sea to prevent disruptions to oil being exported out of the region.

Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement that airports in the cities of Najran and Jizan were hit on Monday, damaging both facilities. The statement did not say who was responsible but followed a Houthi announcement of attacks on Saudi oil facilities, airports and military bases on Monday.

1 killed in Israeli strike in Gaza

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City killed one person and severely injured another, health officials at the city’s Shifa Hospital said.

The Israeli military said it targeted a militant in the strike near the municipal park, a densely populated area of the Gaza Strip, but gave no further information.

It was the latest deadly attack since a ceasefire took effect nearly a year ago. More than 1,460 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose figures are generally considered reliable by the United Nations and independent experts.

Israelis mark 3 years since deadliest day in country's history

Israel is shrouded in mourning this week as the country marks three years since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack. The country began commemorations Monday — the anniversary of the attack in the Jewish calendar — and is scheduled to hold more on the international calendar anniversary on Wednesday.

During the attack, militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostage, sparking a war that later spread across the region.

The attack left lasting trauma in Israel, including in communities near the Gaza border. Israelis there are still grappling with a lost sense of security. Some struggle to see Palestinians as anything other than a threat, even after nearly three years of fighting that has destroyed most of Gaza and killed 74,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the territory.

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