Israeli air strikes on Yemen kill at least nine people, Houthis say
Israeli air strikes have struck targets in Yemen’s capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah, killing nine people according to local media.
In a statement, Israeli forces claimed it had targeted sites “used by the Houthi forces for their military operations” on Thursday, following a missile launched by the group overnight towards Israel, which was intercepted.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the targeted sites included ports and energy infrastructure in Sanaa.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported that Israel launched “four aggressive raids” targeting the Hodeidah port of al-Salif, killing seven, with two more killed in two strikes targeting the Ras Isa oil facility, also located in Hodeidah.
It added that two central power stations south and north of Sanaa were targeted.
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Yemen’s Saba news agency also reported that four raids had targeted Hodeidah, two of them striking the Ras Isa oil facility and killing and wounding some of its employees.
Israel’s military said the attacks were in response to the Houthi missile fired on Thursday, as well as other missile and drone strikes on Israel over the last year, most of which were intercepted.
Debris from the intercepted missile damaged a school but no injuries were reported, the Israeli military said.
The Israeli public broadcasting corporation, Kan, reported on Monday that the Israeli army was planning to strike Yemen in response to recent Houthi missile and drone attacks.
‘Whoever harms us, will be harmed seven-fold’
On Thursday, the Houthis claimed two ballistic missile attacks on Israeli military targets in Israel’s Yaffa area, south of Tel Aviv.
In a statement published by Saba, the Houthis said that the attack had “successfully achieved its objectives,” adding that the strikes occurred "simultaneously" with the Israeli attacks on Sanaa and Hodeidah.
“The Israeli aggression will not deter Yemen and the Yemenis from performing their religious and moral duty in responding to its massacres in the Gaza Strip,” the statement read.
Al Jazeera reported that Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the political bureau of the Houthi administration in Yemen, claims the US had a role in the recent attacks.
“The US-Israeli bombing of civilian facilities in Yemen [power stations and ports] reveals the truth about the West’s hypocrisy and refutes all its humanitarian claims”.
In a post on social media platform X following the strikes, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned the Houthi leaders that: “Whoever raises a hand against the State of Israel - his hand will be cut off, whoever harms us - will be harmed sevenfold.”
Since October 2023, the Houthis have been engaged in attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea they claim are linked to Israel.
The group says the attacks are part of a campaign in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
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