Israeli Military Strikes Houthi Targets in Yemen, Retaliating for Tel Aviv Attack
‘The Houthis attacked us over 200 times,’ Israel’s defense minister says. ‘The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required.’
SANAA, Yemen — The Israeli army says it has struck several Houthi targets on Saturday in western Yemen following a fatal drone attack by the rebel group at Tel Aviv the previous day.
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 number of “military targets” were hit at the western port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold, the Israeli army said, adding that its attack was in response to “hundreds of attacks” against Israel in recent months.
“The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required,” Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said in a statement.
Israel’s military said it alone carried out the strikes and “our friends were updated.” An Israeli Defense Forces official didn’t say how many sites were targeted, but told journalists that the port is the main entry point for Iranian weapons. The official didn’t say whether it was Israel’s first attack on Yemen.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam posted on X that the “blatant Israeli aggression” targeted fuel storage facilities and the province’s power station. He said the attacks aim “to increase the suffering of the people and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza.”
Mr. Abdulsalam said the attacks will only make Yemen’s people and armed forces more determined to support Gaza. “There will be impactful strikes,” Mohamed Ali al-Houthi of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen wrote on X.
A news outlet controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen, Al-Masirah TV, said the strikes on storage facilities for oil and diesel at the port and on the local electricity company caused deaths and injuries, and several people had severe burns. It said there was a large fire at the port and power cuts were widespread.
Health officials in Yemen said the strikes killed a number of people and wounded others, but didn’t elaborate.
The drone attack by Houthi rebels killed one person at the center of Tel Aviv and wounded at least 10 others near the American Embassy early Friday.
