US orders all non-emergency staff to leave Saudi Arabia after a surge in Houthi strikes on airports and hospitals

The US Embassy in Riyadh told all non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia on 23 October, citing "safety risks" from escalating Houthi missile and drone strikes targeting civilian infrastructure. The deadliest recent attack killed at least 13 people and injured hundreds at Riyadh's international airport on 10 October — the worst strike on the kingdom in more than a decade. US staff now require special authorisation to use Saudi airports, and the embassy has warned citizens of airspace closures and flight cancellations.

Houthis have also struck Aden airport and the Maashiq presidential palace complex with ballistic missiles, Yemen's government armed forces confirmed.

The group has seized control of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait, opening what analysts describe as a volatile new front in the wider regional war on Iran.

A Saudi-led coalition intercepted a separate Houthi drone near Medina, home to some of Islam's holiest sites, underscoring how far the attacks now reach inside the kingdom.