SANAA/RIYADH/DOHA/BAGHDAD/UNITED NATIONS – Yemen's Houthi group said Monday evening that it had launched a new ballistic missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh, while Tehran reiterated its readiness to facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement that the group targeted the Riyadh airport with a ballistic missile, claiming the missile "accurately hit" the target.

He said the group also launched a drone attack on King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, southwestern Saudi Arabia, claiming a direct hit.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said in a statement that its forces had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh on Monday evening.

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Explosions were heard in the Saudi capital around the time of the reported attack, and residents received alerts via mobile apps.

The Houthi group has intensified strikes on the Riyadh airport in recent days.

Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said Monday that a Pakistani resident was killed and 11 others injured in a strike targeting the airport Sunday afternoon.

The authority said it had extended the suspension of operations at the airport.

A Saturday Houthi strike on the airport killed 12 people and injured 309 others, according to the authority.

Also on Monday, the Houthis said Saudi Arabia had carried out 119 strikes on several Houthi-held areas over the past 24 hours.

Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that at least nine people were killed and seven others injured in airstrikes on Al-Jawf, a province near the border with Saudi Arabia.

Yemeni military spokesperson Majid al-Nuzaili said in the day that government forces had carried out 1,879 attacks on Houthi military targets in recent hours, claiming that about 950 Houthi fighters had been "neutralized."

The escalation has sparked mounting regional and international concern.

Qatar Airways suspends flights to Riyadh, Dammam

In Doha, Qatar Airways announced on Monday the temporary suspension of flights to and from the Saudi Arabian cities of Riyadh and Dammam following strikes by Yemen's strikes on Saudi airports.

"Due to the current situation, flights to and from Riyadh and Dammam are temporarily suspended," the airline said in an updated travel advisory, urging passengers to check their flight status through its official website or mobile application.

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Further updates will be provided through its website, the airline said, without specifying when services to the two Saudi cities would resume.

Iran reiterates readiness to help facilitate dialogue

At a weekly press conference on Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran has "repeatedly expressed readiness to use our good offices to facilitate dialogue between the (warring) parties."

His remarks came a day after Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, in a phone conversation with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud on Sunday, voiced Iran's readiness to provide "any kind of assistance" to help initiate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the Yemeni government. The renewed fighting marked a major escalation after a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities.

Iraq, Kuwait call for de-escalation

Iraqi President Nizar Amedi and Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Monday called for sustained diplomatic engagement to de-escalate tensions and maintain regional stability.

During a telephone conversation, the two leaders stressed the importance of intensifying efforts to de-escalate tensions, defuse crises, and rely on dialogue and diplomacy to resolve disputes, according to a statement by the Iraqi presidency.

The discussion also focused on advancing Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations through cooperation across various fields, in a manner that serves their mutual interests and meets the aspirations of both peoples for further cooperation and coordination, the statement said.

UN: Fighting, displacement deepen humanitarian crisis

At the United Nations, UN humanitarians warned on Monday that continued hostilities and large-scale displacement are deepening the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, particularly in Taiz governorate.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that 216,000 people have been displaced nationwide since the start of August, including more than 172,000 people from Taiz alone, citing the International Organization for Migration.

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As of Monday, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners have reached some 143,000 people with emergency assistance including food, hygiene kits, and cash assistance. However, growing needs, access constraints and limited resources continue to challenge the humanitarian response, said the office.

The United Nations is particularly concerned about Taiz, where restrictions on key roads are reportedly disrupting civilian movement, commercial supplies and humanitarian access, said OCHA.

"Authorities have warned that continued road closures, including along the Taiz-Aden road, are affecting the availability of food, fuel, water and medical supplies," the office said. "They also reported sharp increases in commodity prices and growing fuel shortages, threatening the continuity of essential health and water services."

OCHA said that inadequate shelter, unsafe sanitation facilities, food insecurity and limited access to health care are exposing displaced women and girls to heightened risks of violence, exploitation and abuse. Across Yemen, funding cuts mean that 72 percent of women and girls' safe spaces have closed. In addition, 73,000 dignity kits are urgently needed to support displaced women and girls.

Civilian casualties continue to rise. According to figures from the UN Human Rights Office, OCHA said that since the start of August, at least 54 civilians have been killed, half of them children. A further 171 civilians have been injured, including 107 women and children.