diff --git a/providers/cncf/kubernetes/src/airflow/providers/cncf/kubernetes/operators/resource.py b/providers/cncf/kubernetes/src/airflow/providers/cncf/kubernetes/operators/resource.py
index f79835817155e..c16df215d6e25 100644
--- a/providers/cncf/kubernetes/src/airflow/providers/cncf/kubernetes/operators/resource.py
+++ b/providers/cncf/kubernetes/src/airflow/providers/cncf/kubernetes/operators/resource.py
@@ -84,6 +84,8 @@ def __init__(
         self.namespaced = namespaced
         self.config_file = config_file
 
+    def _validate_yaml_conf(self) -> None:
+        # yaml_conf/yaml_conf_file are template fields; validate after rendering, called from execute.
         if not any([self.yaml_conf, self.yaml_conf_file]):
             raise AirflowException("One of `yaml_conf` or `yaml_conf_file` arguments must be provided")
 
@@ -144,6 +146,7 @@ def _create_objects(self, objects):
             k8s_resource_iterator(self.create_custom_from_yaml_object, objects)
 
     def execute(self, context) -> None:
+        self._validate_yaml_conf()
         if self.yaml_conf:
             self._create_objects(yaml.safe_load_all(self.yaml_conf))
         elif self.yaml_conf_file and os.path.exists(self.yaml_conf_file):
@@ -176,6 +179,7 @@ def _delete_objects(self, objects):
             k8s_resource_iterator(self.delete_custom_from_yaml_object, objects)
 
     def execute(self, context) -> None:
+        self._validate_yaml_conf()
         if self.yaml_conf:
             self._delete_objects(yaml.safe_load_all(self.yaml_conf))
         elif self.yaml_conf_file and os.path.exists(self.yaml_conf_file):
diff --git a/providers/cncf/kubernetes/tests/unit/cncf/kubernetes/operators/test_resource.py b/providers/cncf/kubernetes/tests/unit/cncf/kubernetes/operators/test_resource.py
index 3bea6a051a24e..8c5e6d1f7ad4b 100644
--- a/providers/cncf/kubernetes/tests/unit/cncf/kubernetes/operators/test_resource.py
+++ b/providers/cncf/kubernetes/tests/unit/cncf/kubernetes/operators/test_resource.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
     KubernetesCreateResourceOperator,
     KubernetesDeleteResourceOperator,
 )
+from airflow.providers.common.compat.sdk import AirflowException
 from airflow.utils import timezone
 
 TEST_VALID_RESOURCE_YAML = """
@@ -93,6 +94,13 @@ def setup_method(self):
         args = {"owner": "airflow", "start_date": timezone.datetime(2020, 2, 1)}
         self.dag = DAG("test_dag_id", schedule=None, default_args=args)
 
+    def test_missing_yaml_conf_rejected_at_execute(self, context):
+        # yaml_conf/yaml_conf_file are template fields; the presence check runs at execute.
+        for operator_class in (KubernetesCreateResourceOperator, KubernetesDeleteResourceOperator):
+            op = operator_class(task_id="test_task_id")
+            with pytest.raises(AirflowException, match="One of `yaml_conf` or `yaml_conf_file`"):
+                op.execute(context={})
+
     @patch("kubernetes.config.load_kube_config")
     @patch("kubernetes.client.api.CoreV1Api.create_namespaced_persistent_volume_claim")
     def test_create_application_from_yaml(
diff --git a/scripts/ci/prek/validate_operators_init_exemptions.txt b/scripts/ci/prek/validate_operators_init_exemptions.txt
index 01fd5bc56dbb7..6e56b1bee1322 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/prek/validate_operators_init_exemptions.txt
+++ b/scripts/ci/prek/validate_operators_init_exemptions.txt
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ providers/apache/kafka/src/airflow/providers/apache/kafka/operators/produce.py::
 providers/apache/spark/src/airflow/providers/apache/spark/operators/spark_submit.py::SparkSubmitOperator
 providers/cncf/kubernetes/src/airflow/providers/cncf/kubernetes/operators/kueue.py::KubernetesInstallKueueOperator
 providers/cncf/kubernetes/src/airflow/providers/cncf/kubernetes/operators/pod.py::KubernetesPodOperator
-providers/cncf/kubernetes/src/airflow/providers/cncf/kubernetes/operators/resource.py::KubernetesResourceBaseOperator
 providers/cohere/src/airflow/providers/cohere/operators/embedding.py::CohereEmbeddingOperator
 providers/common/ai/src/airflow/providers/common/ai/operators/agent.py::AgentOperator
 providers/common/ai/src/airflow/providers/common/ai/operators/document_loader.py::DocumentLoaderOperator