Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi made the remarks in a speech on Sunday, a day after Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes against Yemen’s strategic western province of Hudaydah, in retaliation for an earlier drone strike by Yemeni armed forces against Tel Aviv.
“Yemeni people are pleased to be in direct confrontation with the Israeli enemy, and they are steadfast and brave people,” the Houthi chief said, stressing that Israel cannot stop Yemen’s support for Gaza.
He went on to say that American and British warplanes continue to bomb Yemen in an attempt to stop the country’s anti-Israeli operations, launching 4 airstrikes in the port of Ras Issa in Hudaydah.
Houthi further noted that Israel’s aggression on Hudaydah “was aimed at Yemen’s economy,” arguing that the regime’s choice of targets in the port city proved it intended to harm the Yemeni’s livelihood.
He added that Israel sought to portray strikes as a “great achievement'” and “dealing a blow” to Yemen by showing the scenes of burning fires.
The Ansurallah leader emphasized that the US and UK have failed to stop or even weaken Yemen’s operations in support of Gaza, vowing to expand the scope of its operations as the genocidal war in Gaza continues.
Houthi also stressed that there needs to be more pressure to force Israel to stop its brutal aggression on Gaza as the war enters its tenth month.
The latest remarks came after Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population announced the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Hudaydah has risen to six.
Anis al-Asbahi, the Health Ministry spokesperson, said the victims were civilians, adding that 83 others have been injured, most of them seriously, while three people were also missing.
On Saturday, Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes against Hudaydah, with Yemen’s al-Masirah television network reporting that the attack targeted fuel storage facilities in the port city, igniting a fire in the area.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari stated that Israeli fighter jets attacked military targets in Hudaydah. He added the airstrikes were in response to the hundreds of attacks against Israel in recent months.
It was the first time the Israeli regime had publicly attacked Yemen in months of escalating tensions.
The aggression came a day after the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a drone strike on Tel Aviv in response to the Israeli genocide in Gaza. The drone hit an area near a US consular facility in Tel Aviv early on Friday, killing one person and injuring 10 others as the Israeli air defenses failed to intercept the drone.
Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7.
Yemeni Armed Forces have said that they won’t stop their attacks until Israeli ground and aerial offensives in Gaza, which have killed almost 39,000 people and wounded another 90,000 individuals, come to an end.
