Israel unleashes strikes on Yemeni Houthis
Israeli forces on Thursday launched a massive barrage of strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen in the latest exchange of attacks between Israel and the Iranian-backed rebel group.
The Israeli military said in a statement on the social platform X that fighter jets struck military targets on the western coast of Yemen.
The targets included military infrastructure at Sana’a International Airport along with the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations and three seaports on the western coast, according to the military.
“These military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials,” the Israeli military said in the statement. “This is a further example of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes.”
Houthi media also reported a series of Israeli strikes on the power stations, the airport and the Ras Isa oil port.
The attack comes just days after a Houthi rocket hit Tel Aviv, injuring at least 16 people.
Israel has struck the Houthis several times in Yemen, looking to cripple the Iranian-backed rebel group from launching attacks.
The Houthis, however, have proven resilient, and are continuing to attack not just Israel but also merchant shipping in the Red Sea, part of a campaign the rebel group claims is in solidarity with Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, which has been fighting against Israeli forces since Oct. 7, 2023.
The U.S. has also positioned naval assets in the Red Sea and the Middle East region that has been fighting directly against the Houthis since January. The Houthis have been launching attacks in the Red Sea region since shortly after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli Air Force chief General Tomer Bar had earlier on Wednesday announced that tougher counter-attacks awaited the Houthi militia in response to rocket attack on the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
At a ceremony at the Hatzerim air base in the Negev Desert in southern Israel on Wednesday, Bar stated that Israeli forces have already attacked the Houthis three times.
“We will continue to increase the frequency and intensity of the attacks as needed,” he said.
According to military reports from Wednesday, Israeli air defences intercepted another missile fired from Yemen overnight. In numerous areas in central Israel, warning sirens wailed for the second consecutive night. People had to leave their beds and take shelter in safe rooms.
Such nocturnal Houthi attacks have increased recently. According to media reports, a rocket fragment struck a house south of Tel Aviv.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz has already threatened that Israel would target and kill Houthi leaders. The militia then claimed to have uncovered espionage rings of Israel’s Mossad secret service and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which had gathered information on Houthi leaders.
The Houthis, like Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, are aligned with Israel’s arch-enemy Iran.
This is the second night in a row that Israel has said it has intercepted a Houthi missile and shot it down outside Israel’s borders.
The Houthis said that ballistic missile was fired towards the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that, in response to continued attacks by the militia, there would be severe military strikes against the Islamists in Yemen.
Late Friday, a rocket from Yemen hit Tel Aviv, injuring 16 people slightly.
Since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in October 2023, the Houthi militias, allied with Hamas, have been attacking targets in Israel and ships in the Red Sea with rockets and drones.
Israel, the United States and their allies have been repeatedly targeting Houthi positions in Yemen as a result.
