The Israeli military on Thursday unleashed a significant air assault on parts of Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in retaliation for the group’s frequent attacks on Israel.
The attack damaged the international airport in Sana, the capital and a Houthi stronghold, according to initial reports from Yemen. The Israeli military said in a statement that in addition to the airport, the targets struck by its fighter jets also included the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, describing them as “military infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities.”
The jets also struck military infrastructure in the Al-Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports on Yemen’s western coast, the military said.
The air assault, Israel’s fourth in Yemen over the past year, comes a week after Israeli fighter jets flew more than 1,000 miles to bomb sites in the country, including in Sana and on the port city of Salif. The Israeli military said it had struck infrastructure like power plants, as well as fuel and oil tanks.
Those strikes killed nine people, according to Al-Masirah, a TV channel affiliated with the Houthis, and came hours after Israel’s military said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.
The Houthis have since stepped up their efforts to strike Israel. A missile launched by the militia landed in a playground in Tel Aviv before dawn on Saturday, shattering glass and injuring multiple residents in nearby buildings. The group then launched another missile early Tuesday, hours after Israel’s defense minister suggested that his government would seek to kill the Houthis’ leaders.
That missile set off sirens in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel, but the Israeli military said that the country’s air defenses had successfully intercepted it outside of its territory.
On Wednesday evening, the Israeli military said a drone launched from Yemen had crossed into Israeli territory and fell in an open area.
The Houthis, who act as the de facto government in much of northern Yemen, have been firing on Israel in solidarity with Hamas since shortly after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, prompted the war in Gaza. They have also been launching missiles and drones at cargo vessels crossing the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, significantly disrupting international trade.
The post Israeli Warplanes Bomb Yemen After Houthis Step Up Missile Launches appeared first on New York Times.
