Useful information
Prime News delivers timely, accurate news and insights on global events, politics, business, and technology
Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Israeli warplanes have struck port and energy targets across Yemen, including their first strikes on the capital Sanaa, marking Israel’s third direct strike against Iran-backed Houthi militants this year.
The Israeli military said it had launched “precise strikes” against targets that “contributed to (Houthi) military actions,” including port facilities on the Red Sea coast in Hodeida, As-Salif and Ras Isa, as well as energy facilities in Fury. Nine people were killed in the attacks, according to Houthi-controlled media reports.
Thursday’s attacks came shortly after the Houthis, who control Yemen, launched ballistic missiles into the country that were intercepted by Israel’s air defenses. Residents of central Israel were awakened by air raid sirens, and a school on the outskirts of Tel Aviv was severely damaged by what authorities said were probably missile fragments.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a direct threat to the group’s leaders on Thursday, saying that “Israel’s long hand will reach out to them too.”
“Anyone who raises a hand against the State of Israel will have his hand cut off. “Whoever harms us will suffer seven times more harm,” he added.
The Houthis began shooting at merchant ships in the Red Sea and launching drones and missiles at Israel after the attack by the Gaza-based Hamas militant group on October 7, 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians. Their attacks severely disrupted shipping through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.
Along with Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah militants and Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, the Houthis formed an Iranian-led “axis of resistance” whose capabilities have been severely degraded by Israel in recent months.
A multinational naval task force, led by American and British forces, has attempted to protect merchant ships in the region. On Monday it launched airstrikes against what the US military said was a Houthi “command and control facility” in Sanaa.
The Houthis have launched “hundreds” of missiles and armed drones at Israel, according to the Israeli military, including most recently a long-range missile that targeted central Israel on Monday. An Israeli military official confirmed that the planes “were already in the air” early Thursday when the last Houthi missile was fired.
“This operation was already planned. . . “It is not something that is carried out within five minutes of launching a ballistic missile,” the official added.
Last July, a Houthi drone strike killed one person in Tel Aviv, in what was believed to be an operation targeting the US embassy building. That attack prompted Israel’s first long-range direct strikes against Yemen, targeting port facilities in Hodeida. Continued Houthi missile bombardments against Israel led to a subsequent bombing in September.
The Houthis have vowed to maintain their attacks on both Israel and international shipping until the war in Gaza ends.
Gen. Yahya Sare’e, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said Thursday that the group had launched two “hypersonic ballistic missiles” at Israeli military targets, calling it a “natural and legitimate response” to airstrikes against Yemen.
“Israeli aggression will not deter Yemen and Yemenis from fulfilling their religious and moral duty to respond to (Israel’s) massacres in the Gaza Strip,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Additional reporting by Ahmed Al Omran
