Houthi forces in Yemen announced on October 8 that they had once again struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and launched attacks on Yemeni government forces near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on social media that day that a ballistic missile "precisely hit" King Khalid International Airport and caused disruptions to the airport's air traffic.

Saree issued a "final warning" to international airlines, demanding they stop using Saudi airspace and stating that "Saudi airspace has become a military operations zone for Houthi forces," though the warning's scope "does not include the airspace over Mecca and Medina."

The statement also said that Houthi forces fired multiple ballistic missiles at Yemeni government troop assembly points and reinforcement units in the Al-Arqoub area of Lahij province in southern Yemen near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, causing dozens of casualties and setting fire to some weapons storage facilities.

The group also shot down an armed reconnaissance drone belonging to the Saudi military that was conducting "hostile activities" in Taiz province in southwestern Yemen.

Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement on October 7 that Abha International Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia and King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh were attacked between October 6 and 7, resulting in a total of 3 deaths and 36 injuries.

Spokesman Turki al-Maliki of the Saudi-led multinational coalition said in a statement on the evening of October 7 that the coalition launched a large-scale military operation against Houthi forces in Yemen, destroying 82 military targets.

Al-Maliki said the operation was a response to Houthi attacks on civilian and civilian facilities inside Saudi Arabia.