Saudi Gazette report

Riyadh — The latest barrage of Houthi missiles targeting Saudi Arabia has evoked global outrage.

The US, UK and many other countries joined Arab and Gulf states in expressing strong condemnation of these attacks in which an expatriate was killed.

Saudi air defenses shot down seven ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia on Sunday, with debris killing a man.

Saudi forces destroyed three missiles over northeastern Riyadh shortly before midnight, as well as others fired at the southern cities of Najran, Jazan and Khamis Mushait.

Debris from the missiles fell on a home in Riyadh, killing an Egyptian resident and wounding two other Egyptians.

Condemning the missile attack, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said, “We support our Saudi partners’ right to defend their borders against these threats. We continue to call on all parties, including the Houthis, to return to political negotiations and move toward ending the war in Yemen.”

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Secretary of State for International Development Penny Mordaunt affirmed Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself against security threats, including missiles fired from Yemen. They reiterated the United Kingdom’s support for the efforts of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen to restore legitimacy as endorsed by the UN Security Council.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry also expressed condemnation of the attack.

In cables sent to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said the criminal act was contrary to all international laws, values and principles.

In a statement, Jordan’s Minister of State for Media Affairs Dr. Mohammed Al-Momani assured that Jordan stands by Saudi Arabia in its response to the repeated attacks by Houthi militias. He reiterated Jordan’s rejection of these vicious attacks that terrorize civilians and target the stability of Saudi Arabia.

A statement issued by the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation “reiterated the UAE’s stand with its sisterly country, in the face of this escalation of hostilities.”

It added that the attacks reflect the Iranian-backed Houthi militias’ intransigence and their insistence on destabilizing the region’s security and stability.

The Palestinian leadership stressed that any attack on Saudi Arabia is an attack on Arab and Islamic nations.

“This aggressive and hostile action by the Iran-backed Houthi group proves that the Iranian regime continues to support the armed group with military capabilities,” said official spokesman of the coalition forces supporting the legitimacy in Yemen Col. Turki Al-Maliki.

“The firing of multiple ballistic missiles toward cities is a serious development,” he added.