Israel attacks Houthi positions in Yemen after missile attack

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

An Israeli military spokesman 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 in the port of Salif and the Ras Issa oil terminal, both of which are in Hudaydah 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 edge of Tel Aviv.

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

Israel’s military says hundreds of missiles and drones have been launched at the country from Yemen, most of which have been intercepted.

In the early hours of Thursday, Israelis in Tel Aviv and the surrounding area had to flee to bomb shelters after an incoming missile was shot down by air defense.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a missile was fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory and that damage to a school in the Ramat Efel neighborhood of Ramat Gan was identified after it was intercepted. There is no information about anyone being injured in this.

The IDF is investigating whether the school building collapsed after being hit by missile fragments or fragments from an interceptor missile. Education Minister Yoav Kish said he believed it was “probably a direct attack with a weapon followed by interception”.

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

Seven people were killed in an Israeli strike on the Red Sea port of Salif, while two were killed and one wounded at the nearby Ras Issa oil terminal, according to Houthi-run Al Masirah. Another two people were reportedly injured in the port of Hudaydah in the south.

The TV channel also said power stations in Hayz and Dhahban, south and north of Sanaa, were attacked.

Meshaal al-Rifi, director of the General Electricity Corporation, was quoted as saying that local electricity supplies were affected due to damage to power distribution stations and fuel tanks.

“The Houthis are carrying out attacks against Israel in violation of international law and Houthi rule is a threat to peace and security in the region,” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

“Today, the IDF conducted precision strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen – including the port and energy infrastructure in Sanaa, which the Houthis are exploiting in ways that effectively contribute to their military operations.”

According to the Financial Times, an Israeli military official said the operation was “planned” and that the 14 jets and other aircraft involved were “already in the air” when the Houthis launched their missiles.

Defense Minister Israel Katz meanwhile warned Houthi leaders that ‘Israel’s long arm will reach you too.’

He said, “Whoever raises a hand against the State of Israel – his hand will be cut off. Whoever harms us – he will be harmed seven times.”

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sariya said the group had launched two “hypersonic” ballistic missiles at two “sensitive military targets” in the Tel Aviv area in conjunction with the Israeli attacks, and that the operation had “successfully achieved its objectives”.

He said, “Israel’s aggression will not prevent Yemen and the Yemenis from fulfilling their religious and moral duty to respond to its massacres in the Gaza Strip, as well as to counter this brutal aggression by continuing support and attacking all enemy targets with appropriate weapons.” Will answer.” Added.

It was Israel’s third direct attack against the Houthis in five months.

In July, Israeli forces attacked the port and oil infrastructure of Hodeidah after a Houthi drone strike killed one person in Tel Aviv. It bombed Hodeidah again after a Houthi missile targeted Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport in September.

The US and Britain have also struck Houthi weapons and other military targets in 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 was the center of coordination of the attacks.

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

They say they are working in support of Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They have claimed – often falsely – that they are only targeting ships belonging to Israel, the US or Britain.