Israel strikes Houthi targets after missile attack

Israel said its warplanes carried out a series of strikes against military targets in Yemen belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi movement.

An Israeli military spokesperson said the targets included Red Sea ports and energy infrastructure in the capital Sanaa.

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that nine people were killed at the Salif port and the Ras Issa oil terminal, both in Hodeidah province.

The strikes came hours after a missile fired from Yemen was intercepted over central Israel. A school and several cars were damaged in Ramat Gan, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

The Houthis, who control northwest Yemen, began attacking Israel and international shipping soon after the Gaza war began in October 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.

The Israeli military says hundreds of missiles and drones have since been launched into the country from Yemen, most of which have been intercepted.

In the early hours of Thursday, Israelis in and around Tel Aviv were sent rushing to bomb shelters as an incoming missile was shot down by air defenses.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a missile was fired from Yemen into Israeli territory and damage to a school in the Ramat Efel neighborhood of Ramat Gan was identified following the interception. No injuries were reported, the statement added.

The Israeli military is investigating whether the school building collapsed after being hit by part of the missile or fragments of the interceptor missile. Education Minister Yoav Kisch said he believed it was “a direct hit from a warhead, after it was probably intercepted.”

Two hours after the attack, the IDF announced that its warplanes had struck Houthi military targets on the west coast and inside Yemen.

According to Houthi-led Al Masirah, seven people were killed by an Israeli strike on the Red Sea port of Salif, while two people were killed and one injured at the nearby Ras Issa oil terminal. Two others were reported injured in the port of Hudaydah, just to the south.

The TV channel also reported that the Haiz and Dhahban power plants, south and north of Sanaa, had been hit.

General Electricity Corporation director Meshaal al-Rifi was quoted as saying that local electricity supplies had been affected by damage to electricity distribution stations and fuel tanks.

“The Houthis have carried out attacks against Israel in violation of international law, and the Houthi regime poses a threat to peace and security in the region,” said IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

“Today, the IDF carried out precise strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen, including ports and energy infrastructure in Sanaa, which the Houthis used to effectively contribute to their military actions. »

An Israeli military official said the operation was “planned” and that the 14 planes and other aircraft involved were “already in the air” when the Houthis launched their missile, according to the Financial Times.

Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, warned Houthi leaders that “Israel's long hand will reach you too.”

“Whoever raises his hand against the State of Israel, his hand will be cut off. Whoever hurts us will be hurt seven times more,” he added.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group launched two “hypersonic” ballistic missiles at two “sensitive military targets” in the Tel Aviv area at the same time as the Israeli strikes, and that the operation had “successfully achieved its objectives”.

“Israeli aggression will not deter Yemen and Yemenis from fulfilling their religious and moral duty by responding to the massacres in the Gaza Strip, as well as from responding to this brutal aggression by continuing to support and strike all hostile targets with appropriate weapons,” he said. added.

This is Israel's third direct attack on the Houthis in five months.

In July, the Israeli army struck the Hudaydah port and oil infrastructure after a Houthi drone attack killed one person in Tel Aviv. It bombed Hodeidah again in September after a Houthi missile targeted Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport.

The US and UK have also carried out strikes against Houthi weapons and other military targets over the past year in response to attacks on global shipping in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

On Monday, US Central Command said it had targeted a “key command and control facility” in Sanaa that had served as a hub for coordinating the attacks.

The Houthis have targeted dozens of merchant ships with missiles, drones and small boat attacks since November 2023. They have sunk two ships, captured a third and killed four crew members.

They say they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They claimed – often falsely – that they only targeted ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK.