Israel says pounded Yemen’s Hodeidah in response to Houthi deadly attack

The air strikes on Saturday were carried out a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack that killed one person in Tel Aviv and injured 10 others.

The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported the Israeli attack targeted oil storage facilities and a power plant in Hodeidah, igniting a fire in the area. The news outlet quoted health officials as saying the air raids resulted in casualties, including fatalities, without specifying a number.

But the Israeli military claimed it hit “military targets” in Yemen.

Military spokesman Daniel Hagari has stated that Israeli fighter jets attacked military targets in the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

He added the warplanes struck “military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the Hodeidah port area in Yemen, in response to the hundreds of attacks against the State of Israel in recent months”.

The Israeli air strikes are the first known direct attack by Israel against Houthis since the start of the war on Gaza. The assault comes amid growing fears of escalating violence across the Middle East.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam said the “brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen” aims to “pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza, which is a dream that will not come true”.

He added that the attack “will only increase the determination of the Yemeni people and their valiant armed forces”.

The Iran-allied Houthis have been targeting shipping lanes in the Red Sea in a campaign that they say aims to pressure Israel to end its war on Gaza, which has killed more than 38,900 Palestinians.

The Yemeni group has also launched ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, most of which have been intercepted.

But early on Friday, an explosive-laden Houthi drone eluded Israeli air defences and struck a building in Tel Aviv in what was seen as a major security breach in Israel.

The United States and United Kingdom have been conducting air strikes in Yemen for months in response to the Houthis’ Red Sea assaults. But the military campaign has failed to stop the Yemeni group’s attacks.