Geneva – October 11, 2026
SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties stated today that the attack targeting King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Saturday, October 10, 2026—which resulted in the killing of 12 people and the injury of 309 others—constitutes a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law prohibiting direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects, and may amount to a war crime warranting investigation and individual criminal accountability. The organization called on the Houthi group to immediately cease attacks on airports and civilian facilities, and to refrain from deploying missiles and drones in strikes that endanger civilian lives.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), citing a statement by the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), the attack on Saturday afternoon claimed the lives of 12 people—including four Saudis and eight residents of Bangladeshi, American, Egyptian, Jordanian, Syrian, Palestinian, and Sudanese nationalities—and injured 309 others, some critically, alongside causing physical damage to airport facilities. Media reports indicated that the attack struck a complex housing passenger terminals 3 and 4, prompting the suspension of air traffic, the diversion of flights to other airports, and a full mobilization of emergency and medical response teams.
Saudi authorities, through the official spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, Major General Turki Al-Malki, attributed responsibility for the attack to the Houthi group, placing it within a series of strikes targeting the airport in preceding days. Although the group had not claimed direct responsibility for Saturday's attack in initial reports reviewed by the organization, it had previously announced strikes against the airport and warned international airlines against using Saudi airspace, characterizing it as an active zone of military operations.
SAM stated that targeting an infrastructure dedicated to civil aviation, which houses terminals for passengers and personnel, raises serious concerns regarding the deliberate targeting of civilian objects, or operations conducted in disregard of the legal obligations requiring parties to a conflict to distinguish between military objectives and civilian objects, and to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm.
Tawfiq Al-Hamidi, President of the organization, stated:
"Civilian airports and passenger terminals cannot be converted into military targets simply because they are located within a state participating in an armed conflict, nor can civilian passengers and personnel be considered legitimate targets based on their nationalities or affiliations. Any decision to target a civilian facility with the prior knowledge that large numbers of civilians are present demands a serious criminal investigation into the nature of the objective, the weapons employed, and the decision-making process preceding the execution of the attack."
The strike comes amid escalating military tensions following the Houthi group's announcement ending the de-escalation phase in June 2026—in the wake of the Iranian Mahan Air incident and the group's declared blockade on Saudi oil tankers—alongside the expansion of hostilities in Yemen, particularly across Taiz Governorate and the Western Coast. Earlier attacks during the same week had caused casualties and disrupted air navigation, during which the Houthi group declared Saudi airspace part of its theater of military operations.
SAM emphasized that unlawful attacks occurring inside Yemen, or restrictions imposed on aviation and maritime navigation, grant no party the right to retaliate against civilians or target civilian infrastructure in another state. The rules of international humanitarian law strictly prohibit reprisal attacks directed against civilian populations and civilian objects, and do not permit breaches of these norms in response to violations committed by an adversary.
International humanitarian law strictly prohibits direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate attacks and attacks expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life or injury that would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.
Articles 48, 51, 52, and 57 of Additional Protocol I to the 1977 Geneva Conventions codify the core principles of distinction, protection of civilians and civilian objects, proportionality, and precautions in attack. These principles reflect customary international humanitarian law, binding upon all parties to both international and non-international armed conflicts.
Civilian airports enjoy the legal protections accorded to civilian objects, losing this protection only if, under specific circumstances, they become military objectives according to the established legal standard—namely, that by their nature, location, purpose, or use, they make an effective contribution to military action, and that their total or partial destruction, capture, or neutralization offers a definite military advantage under the circumstances ruling at the time. Even in such cases, the rules of proportionality, precautions, and civilian protection remain fully operative.
SAM observed that available information indicating strikes on passenger terminals and significant civilian casualties—absent credible evidence establishing the presence of a legitimate military objective within the targeted site—provides substantial grounds to investigate potential deliberate attacks against civilians or civilian objects, or attacks carried out indiscriminately or disproportionately.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court criminalizes intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects in international armed conflicts under Article 8(2)(b)(i) and (ii), as well as intentionally directing attacks against civilians in non-international armed conflicts under Article 8(2)(e)(i). Determining the applicable provision hinges on the legal qualification of the conflict, the specific facts, and the constitutive elements of the crime.
Criminal liability for war crimes is not restricted solely to direct perpetrators; it extends to those who order, plan, or intentionally aid and abet their commission, as well as commanders who knew, or had reason to know, that subordinates were committing war crimes and failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures to prevent them or submit the matter to competent authorities for investigation and prosecution, under the doctrine of command and superior responsibility.
The organization stressed that while civilian casualties alone do not automatically establish all elements of a war crime, the civilian nature of the facility, the precise point of impact, and the scale of human loss necessitate an independent and effective investigation into the lawfulness of the attack and the presence of criminal intent among those responsible.
SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties calls on the Houthi group to immediately cease all attacks targeting civilian airports, populated areas, and non-military facilities within Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and to revoke any threats directed at civil aviation or endangering passengers and aviation personnel.
The organization also calls upon the Saudi authorities to carry out an independent and transparent investigation into the attack, safeguard physical and digital evidence—including missile fragments, surveillance footage, flight data logs, medical forensic reports, and witness and victim testimonies—and publish its findings to definitively identify the nature of the attack and the individuals and entities responsible.
SAM urges measures to ensure that victims and their families obtain effective remedies and full reparation, and that anyone found complicit in ordering or executing unlawful attacks against civilians is held accountable under international law and recognized fair trial standards.
Furthermore, the organization urges the United Nations and the international community to condemn attacks against civil aviation, take proactive measures to prevent their recurrence, press all parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, and ensure military escalation does not become a pretext for expanding attacks on civilian populations and infrastructure.
SAM reaffirmed that the protection of civilians is not a selective obligation that fluctuates based on the identity of the victims or the party responsible for the attack, but an absolute legal rule binding on all parties. The protection of Saudi, Yemeni, and other civilians affected by the conflict must be governed by the exact same legal standard, divorced from political and military considerations.
The organization concluded:
"Targeting civilian airports and killing passengers and civil workers can never be justified under the pretexts of deterrence, retaliation, or military leverage. Ending impunity begins with a rigorous investigation into these attacks, the identification and prosecution of those responsible, and robust guarantees of non-recurrence."