The Houthis, allies of Iran like the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas, opened a front against Israel in “solidarity» with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. On Saturday, they claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Tel Aviv airport. “A new Israeli aggression targeted the port of the city of Hodeida and that of Ras Issa in the province of the same name, as well as two power plants”indicated the Al-Massirah channel.
According to an initial report from Al-Massirah, four people were killed, “a port employee and three engineers», and 33 injured. The Israeli army indicated that “during a large-scale air operation, dozens of air force aircraft (…) attacked military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the regions of Ras Issa and Hodeida».
An answer
“Power plants and a seaport» targeted were “used by the Houthis to” transfer Iranian weapons into the region and supplies for military needs,” added an army spokesperson, David Avraham, in a statement to AFP. »The strike was carried out in response to recent attacks by the Houthi regime against the State of Israel.according to him. After the operation, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that “no place was too far” for Israel.
On Saturday, the Houthis claimed that Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah “will strengthen their resolve” to attack Israel. These rebels have launched several attacks against Israel since the start of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023.
Last July, they carried out a drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed a civilian. In retaliation, Israel launched strikes on a power plant and fuel depots in the port of Hodeida.
The Houthis, who control large swaths of Yemen, are part of what Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy, calls the “axis of resistance”, which notably includes Hamas and Hezbollah. They also regularly attack ships presented as linked to Israel, the United States or the United Kingdom, in the Red Sea and in the Gulf of Aden. The United States has carried out raids against Houthi targets in Yemen, sometimes with the help of the British army.
