SANAA, Yemen — The Israeli army said Saturday it has struck several Houthi targets in western Yemen following a fatal drone attack by the rebel group in Tel Aviv the previous day. The Israeli strikes appeared to be the first on Yemeni soil since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.
Several “military targets” were hit in the western port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold, the Israeli army said, adding that its attack was “in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the state of Israel in recent months.”
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam wrote on social media platform X that Yemen was subjected to a “blatant Israeli aggression” that targeted fuel storage facilities and the province’s power station. He said the attacks aim “to increase the suffering of the people and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza.”
Abdulsalam said the attacks will only make the people of Yemen and its armed forces more determined to support Gaza. Mohamed Ali al-Houthi of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen wrote on X that "there will be impactful strikes.”
A media outlet controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen, Al-Masirah TV, said the strikes on storage facilities for oil and diesel at the port and on the local electricity company caused deaths and injuries, and several people suffered severe burns. It said there was a large fire at the port and power cuts were widespread.
Health officials in Yemen said the strikes killed people and injured others but did not elaborate.
The drone attack by Houthi rebels killed one person in the center of Tel Aviv and wounded at least 10 others near the United States Embassy early Friday.
Virtually all projectiles fired from the southern Arabian country toward Israel have so far been intercepted. Israel said air defenses detected the drone on Friday but an “error” occurred and “there was no interception.“
Since January, the U.S. and British forces have been striking targets in Yemen in response to the Houthis' attacks on commercial shipping that the rebels have described as retaliation for Israel's actions in the war in Gaza. However, many of the ships targeted are not linked to Israel.
The joint force airstrikes have so far done little to deter the Iran-backed force.
Analysts and Western intelligence services have long accused Iran of arming the Houthis, a claim Tehran denies. In recent years, U.S. naval forces have intercepted ships packed with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and missile parts en route from Iran to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
