At least 12 people died and 309 were injured in an attack on an airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-led coalition said a missile also fell near King Fahd International Airport in the city of Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
According to local officials, just a few days ago, Yemen's Houthi rebels had claimed to have carried out similar attacks.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has condemned the attack and said that his country expresses its commitment to the sovereignty of Saudi Arabia in accordance with the Mecca Agreement and the permanent brotherhood between the two countries.
Saudi Arabia is an important partner of the Mecca Agreement between Pakistan and Türkiye. Under its provisions, an attack on any one country will be considered an attack on all three.
During the last few weeks, Houthi rebels have been continuously attacking Saudi Arabia's airports.
The Saudi Arabia-led military coalition has vowed to respond to the attack. The coalition has held Houthi rebels responsible for the attack and described it as a 'war crime'.
But the biggest question is why America's military ally Saudi Arabia is not able to save its capital Riyadh from these attacks by Houthi rebels despite having huge arms stockpile and crime money.
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American news outlet CNN has written that the rapid advance of Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and their attacks on Saudi Arabia have left the Gulf country with limited options for retaliation.
He may have to pay a heavy price for each of these options.
CNN writes, "Experts say Saudi Arabia does not want a widespread war." However, the growing morale of Houthi rebels could draw Saudi Arabia into a major regional conflict.
Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert and Washington, DC-based risk consultant, told CNN, "All signs now point to a large-scale Saudi retaliation and the probability of that is increasing every day."
However, in the meantime there is also discussion as to why despite the Mecca Agreement, Pakistan and Türkiye are not coming forward in the defense of Saudi Arabia.
According to the think tank Soufan Center, in an attempt to prevent the scope of war with Iran from increasing, America, Saudi Arabia's biggest security ally, has refused to provide direct support to it.
Same is the situation with Pakistan and Türkiye, who had signed a military agreement with each other a few days ago. Its provisions included that an attack on any one country in the alliance would be considered an attack on all three.
Regional leaders and the Trump administration appear to have assessed that intervening in Yemen could lead to retaliation from Iran and armed groups close to it.
Pakistani officials have justified their decision by saying that the ongoing war in Yemen is a conflict that was going on before the Mecca Agreement. Therefore, under this agreement, Pakistan is not obliged to protect Saudi Arabia.
Houthi rebels become stronger with the help of Iran
Even though Iran is currently embroiled in a war with America. But he has been helping the Houthi rebels for a long time. With its help, the Houthi rebels continued to expand and upgrade their arsenal of long-range drones and missiles.
This capability of the Houthi rebels made them capable of carrying out attacks inside Saudi Arabia. The capabilities of the Houthi rebels have now increased so much that they can carry out major attacks deep inside Saudi Arabia, against airports, urban infrastructure and residential areas of Riyadh.
According to Saudi officials, Houthi rebels have attacked the country's two major airports, Riyadh and Abha, with missiles and drones within two days. Three people died and dozens were injured in these attacks.
These attacks have taken place at a time when Houthi rebels have given a 'final warning' to international airlines against using Saudi Arabia's airspace.
Houthi army spokesman Yahya Sarri has claimed that Saudi Arabia's airspace has now become "the center of their military operations".
The Houthis also claimed to have launched another missile attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on the night of Wednesday and Thursday.
Danny i.e. Denis Citrinovich is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) who keeps an eye on the affairs of the Middle East, Iran and Yemen.
According to him, the Houthis' targeting of airports is not just a military action.
This is also part of their political strategy and attempt to create mental pressure on people.
While talking to BBC Urdu, Danny mentioned an earlier statement given by the Houthis.
In this statement, the Houthis had said, "If our planes cannot land at Sana'a Airport, then the planes of any civil airline should also not land in Saudi Arabia."
According to Danny, this is the main reason for the Houthis to attack airports.
Why is there a huge stockpile of weapons and immense wealth yet we are weak in fighting?
Inquirer. Net wrote that Saudi Arabia has immense wealth and sophisticated weapons, yet why has it failed to defeat the Houthi rebels for more than a decade.
According to experts, Saudi Arabia has struggled to stop this group because its proxies on the ground are not effective. The rugged terrain and Iranian support have increased the strength of the Houthis.
Inquirer. According to the Net, Saudi expert Bernard Haykel of Princeton University said that Saudi Arabia will have to create an army that is ready to fight. At the same time, it will also have to create a population that will be ready to die to save whatever they have. And right now they don't have it.
In fact, purchasing weapons on a large scale from Western arms selling companies, including American, British and French companies, has become Saudi Arabia's defense policy.
But no one is coming from their side to fight on the ground.
Despite its vast weapons stockpile, the Saudi military has limited experience in complex combat operations.
However, according to NPR, regional officials told The Associated Press last month that Saudi Arabia is running out of missile interceptors. They have been requested to deploy air defense support in the area from France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt.
One of the officers also said that America's stock of missile interceptors has also reduced during the war with Iran.
Experts say that the state's military forces were deliberately kept small and divided to prevent a coup in a coup-prone area.
Middle East expert Takeh told a parliamentary hearing in 2015, "Saudi Arabia is the only place where the monarchy was not removed by the military because they kept the army weak."
The struggle has been going on for a decade
Houthi rebels say they are targeting Saudi Arabia for supporting government forces in Yemen's civil war.
A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia was formed in 2015. At that time, many Arab countries had united to stop the Houthi rebels' attempt to oust Yemen's internationally recognized government from power.
Years of air strikes and ground fighting affected millions of people and resulted in thousands of deaths.
After this a temporary ceasefire was established in 2022. This conflict has given rise to one of the world's most serious humanitarian crises.
However, later this informal ceasefire started breaking down.
Houthi rebels declared a 'maritime blockade' against Saudi Arabia and launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil installations and oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Houthi rebels say that they are taking this action in response to the years-long blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia and the air attack on the airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa. Sanaa is controlled by Houthi rebels.
The United Nations said on Wednesday that due to the worsening situation, more than two lakh people had to leave their homes.
