Israel has bombed key ports in Yemen and the capital Sana’a in response to more than a year of rocket and drone attacks launched by the Houthi rebels, the army said on Thursday.
Dozens of fighter jets, tanker planes and reconnaissance aircraft were deployed in two waves to attack military targets about 1,700 kilometers from Israel, according to the army.
“We did this in response to repeated Houthi attacks on civilian targets in Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Three key ports used by Yemen’s Houthi militia, a long-time opponent of Israel, have been hit and put out of action, a military spokesman said.
The ports are not only considered a major trading center for Iranian arms supplies to the Houthis, but are also used for international aid shipments for the people of the impoverished, war-torn Red Sea country.
Israel also attacks capital
For the first time, the Israeli air force also carried out attacks on the capital Sana’a, bombing the city’s energy infrastructure, the spokesman said.
It was the third time Israel had attacked the Houthis with airstrikes after attacks in July and September.
Nine people were killed in attacks on the western coastal province of Hodeidah on Thursday, the Houthi-affiliated al-Masirah broadcaster reported.
Al-Masirah TV reported that seven people were killed at al-Salif port and two others at the Ras Isa oil facility.
Attacks on two power stations in the capital Sana’a were also reported.
According to Israel, the port of Hodeidah was also bombed.
Israeli school hit by rocket fragments
Israel has repelled a rocket attack launched from Yemen last night.
The attacks on Yemen were not a direct response to that attack, but were planned long in advance, according to the army.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that they targeted “two specific and sensitive military targets” in Jaffa, next to Tel Aviv.
A school near Tel Aviv was severely damaged when a rocket fired from Yemen was shot down early Thursday, according to Israeli media.
The Houthi militia in Yemen, which is an ally of Israel’s arch-enemy Iran, like the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement, has continued its attacks on Israel even after the ceasefire in Lebanon.
According to the Times of Israel newspaper, the Houthis have fired approximately 200 rockets and 170 drones into Israel over the past 12 months. Israel was able to intercept most of the rockets, the report said.
The militia claims it is operating in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been waging war against the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas since the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Recently, a house in Israel was hit by a drone strike from Yemen. In July, a man was killed in Tel Aviv when he was hit by a projectile from Yemen.
In retaliation for Houthi attacks, Israel targeted locations in Yemen in July and September, including power plants and a port, killing several people.
