The Jordanian Mahmoud Al-Barqawi went out looking for a livelihood for his two children.. and he returned, killed in the Riyadh airport attack

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Mahmoud Hussein Al-Barqawi did not know that his departure in search of a living and securing the future of his two children would be his last time with his family, and that the journey he began in pursuit of a livelihood would end with his return to it as a body wrapped in a shroud.

In the home of the Jordanian family, the dreams of the father who went out to provide for the needs of his two children turned into a painful shock, after the cowardly terrorist attack carried out by the Houthi militia on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh claimed his life, leaving behind two children who lost their father, and a family facing the pain of loss and the questions of sudden departure.

Al-Barqawi was not just a name on the list of victims of the attack, but rather a father whose life was linked to responsibility for his family and striving for it. However, the attack that targeted the airport put an end to his life, and turned his absence into a human tragedy that goes beyond numbers and statistics, reaching a house that lost one of its pillars, and two children who are now faced with the harsh reality that “their father will not return to them as he left.”

For his part, the father of the young Jordanian Mahmoud Al-Barqawi, the victim of the Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, said in statements to Al-Arabiya that his family considers their son to God, adding: “Praise be to God for what happened to us in the death of my son Mahmoud.” He described the bombing as a brutal targeting of innocent people, expressing his hope that these terrorist attacks will stop so that other families do not lose their loved ones and new innocents. He added that his son “left a trust,” stressing the family’s determination to bear responsibility and fulfill this trust despite the pain of loss. He pointed out that the Jordanian authorities are continuing their efforts to recover his son's body as soon as possible.

Al-Barqawi was killed in the Houthi attack that targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as part of an attack that resulted in the death of 12 people and the injury of 309 others, according to the announced toll.

The targeting of the airport, as it represents a civilian facility frequented by travelers and workers, sparked widespread Arab and international condemnation, amid demands to stop the attacks that endanger the lives of civilians, and to hold those responsible accountable.

The official spokesman for the coalition forces, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, described the attack on one of the airport’s passenger lounges as “amounting to a full-fledged war crime,” in accordance with international humanitarian law and its customary rules, stressing that the leadership of the joint forces of the coalition will respond firmly to it, in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Several countries and organizations also condemned the attack, affirming their solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their support for measures aimed at protecting its security, sovereignty, and the safety of civilians.

Behind each victim of assault is a different human story, a family receives the news of their departure in shock, and dreams that suddenly stop without warning.

The story of Mahmoud Al-Barqawi summarizes part of this tragedy. A father went out in search of a livelihood for his two children, but he did not return to them carrying what he had hoped to provide for them. Rather, his name returned associated with the news of death, in a scene that summarizes the brutality of the Houthi terrorist militia’s attacks on civilians and leaving its effects on their families for years.

Between the sadness over his passing and the tragedy that his two children are experiencing, his story remains a reminder that the impact of targeting civilian facilities does not stop at the site of the attack, but rather extends to homes awaiting the return of their loved ones, and then suddenly find themselves faced with an unexpected tragedy.