Israel on Sunday said that it bombed power plants and other Houthi targets in Yemen in response to a missile attack by the Iran-aligned militants at Israel over the past two days, marking another front in the Middle East fighting.
The latest Israeli strikes against Houthis killed at least four people and wounded 29, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said in a statement. Moreover, the residents said the bombing had caused power outages in most parts of the port city of Hodeidah. It is worth mentioning that Hodeideh is one of the most crucial ports in the Red Sea which Houthis control. Moreover, Houthis used the port and city to target ships and increasing the vulnerability of the sea route, which mounted concerns among the western nations in the past.
Second fighter jet strike in Yemen
In a statement, Israel's military said that dozens of aircraft, including fighter jets, had attacked power plants and a seaport in Hodeidah and the port of Ras Issa. Notably, it was the second such Israeli attack on Yemen in over two months. During the last such attack in July, Israeli warplanes struck Houthi military targets near Hodeidah after a Yemeni drone hit Tel Aviv and killed one man.
The military statement said, "Over the past year, the Houthis have been operating under the direction and funding of Iran, and in cooperation with Iraqi militias in order to attack the State of Israel, undermine regional stability, and disrupt global freedom of navigation."
Since, the beginning of the war in Gaza, the Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel, a stance which they call a solidarity with the Palestinians. On Saturday, Houthis launched a fresh attack using ballistic missiles towards the Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv which Israel intercepted. Prior to that, Israel intercepted another Houthi missile on Friday.
In a post on X, Mohammed Abdulsalam, a spokesperson for the Houthis, said Sunday's Israeli strikes would not cause the group to "abandon Gaza and Lebanon".
Iran reacts to strikes on Hodiedeh
Meanwhile, Iran reacted to Israeli strikes and said they had targeted civilian infrastructure. Condemning the strikes President Masoud Pezeshkian said Israel should not be allowed to attack countries in the Iran-aligned "Axis of Resistance" one after the other.
(With Reuters Inputs)
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