Arab Coalition: Ballistic Missile Targeting Riyadh Airport Arrived Via Hodeidah Port

Arab Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki gives a press conference at the King Salman Airbase in Riyadh on Nov. 5, 2017. (Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images)
Arab Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki gives a press conference at the King Salman Airbase in Riyadh on Nov. 5, 2017. (Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images)
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Arab Coalition: Ballistic Missile Targeting Riyadh Airport Arrived Via Hodeidah Port

Arab Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki gives a press conference at the King Salman Airbase in Riyadh on Nov. 5, 2017. (Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images)
Arab Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki gives a press conference at the King Salman Airbase in Riyadh on Nov. 5, 2017. (Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images)

The Arab Coalition backing the Yemeni internationally-recognized government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi announced on Friday that the ballistic missile which targeted Riyadh's civilian airport earlier his month was trafficked through the Red Sea port of Hodiedah.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki released a statement saying that the missile launched towards the city of Riyadh on Nov 4 had entered through Yemen's port of Hodeidah.

International, regional backlash erupted after the audacious targeting, as Riyadh chose to resort to reviewing and implementing stringent security checks inhibiting smuggled arms arriving to the hands of Tehran-aligned Houthi militias in Yemen.

On the other hand, the Arab Coalition also announced that 42 flight permits were issued for ships and relief aircraft.

“Since November 4th; there have been 82 permits issued to facilitate entry and aid distribution into Yemen: 40 permits through sea ports and 42 permits through airports,” said the spokesperson.

“This includes issuing clearance for a ship today (Rena), carrying 5,500 Metric Tons of food supplies, to the Port of Hodeidah,” Maliki added.

Additionally, there have been 5 clearances issued to aircraft bound to Sana’a Airport; including the November 22 clearance for an International Committee Red Cross plane.

Three days ago, Saudi Arabia said that the coalition will see to the reopening of Hodeidah port to aid shipments and the Sana’a airport to United Nations flights.

Upon its announcement, the coalition renewed its call for the UN to take over the port of Hodeidah, which is under the control of the coup militia.

The White House welcomed in a statement the coalition’s initiative on reopening each of the port of Hodeidah and the international airport, allowing a healthier flow of humanitarian aid into Yemen.

The statement described the decision to open the port of Hodeidah and Sana’a airport as a first step in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, expressing Washington's aspiration to take additional steps.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.