Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hodeidah port is the main entry point into Yemen for weapons from the Houthis’ main backer, Iran.
The Israeli army says it has struck several Houthi targets in western Yemen in response to a drone attack claimed by the rebel group that killed one person in Tel Aviv on Friday.
Several “military targets” were hit in the western port city of Hodeidah, the IDF said, adding that the strike was in retaliation for “hundreds of attacks carried out against the state of Israel in recent months.”
The Houthi-run government in the capital Sanaa said oil storage facilities had been hit, as well as a power plant. The Ministry of Health said that 80 people were wounded in a preliminary toll of the strikes, most of them with severe burns. Other health officials said the strikes killed a number of people and wounded others, but didn’t elaborate.
The Israeli strikes appeared to be the first on Yemeni soil since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, and they threatened to open a new front in the region as Israel battles proxies of Iran.
A spokesperson for the Houthis slammed what he called “blatant aggression” by Israel.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that they will respond to this blatant aggression and, with the help of God, will not hesitate to strike the vital targets of the Israeli enemy and reaffirms its previous statement regarding the declaration of the occupied Jaffa area as an unsafe zone,” said Brigadier General Yahya Saree.
In a televised address on Saturday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hodeidah is not an “innocent port”, adding that it is the main entry point into Yemen for weapons from the Houthis’ main backer, Iran.
“Like Hamas and Hezbollah, the Houthis are an integral part of Iran’s axis of evil. This axis works not only against Israel, it threatens the peace of the entire world. Israel expects the international community to increase its efforts against Iran and its proxies, to curb Iran’s aggression, and to protect international freedom of navigation,” he said.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the strike on Hodeidah was “an IDF only action,” and that no other parties were involved.
“The Houthi’s attacks are acts of aggression, a violation of international law and a threat to the international peace and security. Today, Israel stepped up its actions in self-defence against these attacks,” he said.
The Israeli strikes are thought to be the first on Yemeni soil since the war with Hamas began in October, and they threaten to open a new front in the region as Israel battles proxies of Iran, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and scattered militia groups in Syria.
Saturday’s strike comes after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack that hit a part of central Tel Aviv near the United States Embassy early on Friday morning.
One person was killed, a 50-year-old man who had recently moved to Israel from Belarus, and 10 others were injured.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles toward Israel throughout the nine-month-long war, claiming to be doing so in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
For the same reason, the group has also targeted shipping in the Red Sea it claims is linked to Israel, but most of the vessels hit have little or nothing to do with Israel.