Israel on Thursday struck several sites in Yemen, including the international airport serving the capital Sanaa and the nearby al-Dailaimi air base.
Houthi Al Masirah TV reported that three people were killed in Israeli strikes, including two in the attack on Sanaa International Airport. Eleven more were injured in this.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the UN World Health Organization, said the attacks prevented a UN mission negotiating the release of detainees from leaving Yemen.
“About two hours ago, just as we were about to take off on our flight from Sanaa, there was an aerial bombardment of the airport,” Ghebreyesus said online. He said one UN crew member was injured. “We will have to wait until the damage to the airport is repaired before we can leave.”
What do we know so far?
“Recently, Air Force warplanes, under the direction of the Intelligence Branch, attacked terrorist targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the West Coast Strip and inside Yemen,” the IDF said.
The Israeli military said it was targeting “infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities at the international airport in Sanaa and the Aziz and Ras Qantaib power stations.” It also “targeted infrastructure at the ports of Hodeidah, al-Salif and Ras Qantaib on Yemen’s west coast.”
It said the sites were used “to transfer Iranian weapons” or to receive senior officials coming from Iran.
Yemeni media previously reported explosions and airstrikes at these sites, with a Houthi spokesman blaming “Israeli aggression”.
Netanyahu hints at attack on infrastructure after Tel Aviv missile attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made brief comments on the Israeli attacks on Thursday.
“We are committed to cutting off this branch of terrorism from the Iranian axis of evil. We will continue until the job is done,” he said in a video statement in Hebrew.
On Saturday, 16 people were injured in a Houthi missile attack near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu later told the Knesset parliament that he had asked the military to plan attacks on Yemeni infrastructure used by the Houthis.
Netanyahu had said, “I have instructed my forces to destroy the Houthis’ infrastructure because anyone who tries to harm us will be attacked with full force.”
Houthi rebels open fire on Israel and Red Sea shipping amid Gaza conflict
Yemen’s Houthis, who have controlled much of the country since seizing power in 2014 and early 2015, have become more militarily active amid Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
they sometimes Attacks Israel, based far to the north of Yemen, but have also repeatedly attacked commercial shipping closer to home in the Red Sea, usually claiming it is linked to or assisting Israel. They say their attacks are aimed at supporting Palestinians amid the ongoing war in Gaza, where local health officials say more than 45,300 people have been killed so far.
Attacks on commercial shipping prompted international military deployment to the Red Sea to make the main shipping lanes safe again. Therefore, attacks by US forces or their allies on targets inside Yemen are also currently quite common.
Israel’s military operation in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, following Hamas-led terrorist attacks on the country, killing 1,200 people while taking about 250 hostage.
msh/rmt (AFP, AP, Reuters)
