Israel launched a series of airstrikes Thursday against targets inside Yemen. Israeli military officials said the targeted locations are controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have repeatedly attacked Israeli territory with drones and surface-to-surface missiles over the past several days.
The latest IDF mission targeted military infrastructure at the country’s main airport in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. Power stations in Hezyaz and Ras Qantib, along with seaports on the western coast of Yemen, were also hit, Israeli officials said.
“These military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials,” IDF officials said in a statement. “This is a further example of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes.”
The Houthi regime operates as an autonomous terror group while relying on Iranian cooperation and funding to carry out its attacks, the IDF said.
“The Houthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror, and their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world,” the IDF said in a statement. “The IDF will not hesitate to operate at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
In addition to routinely targeting Israel, the Houthis have targeted commercial ships in and around the Red Sea since Oct. 7, 2023, when another Iran-backed terror group, Hamas, launched its own assault on Israel. Since January, the U.S. has led an air campaign targeting the Houthis in Yemen, though the attempted Houthi strikes against Israel and on commercial shops have continued.
Two U.S. Navy personnel had to eject from their F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft last Sunday when it was inadvertently fired on by a U.S. guided missile cruiser, Pentagon officials said. The friendly fire incident apparently took place during the most recent American strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen.
Amid those strikes, the Houthis are attempting to hit back at Israel. Analysts said that the most recent Houthi barrage saw at least four missiles fired toward Israel. Three of the Houthi missiles, which primarily targeted central Israeli population centers such as Tel Aviv, were intercepted. The fourth reportedly struck an empty playground in the city of Jaffa. Three people suffered injuries from flying glass while several more were injured when they fell while rushing toward bomb shelters.
At a briefing following Thursday’s strikes, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, commander of the Israeli Air Force, said the latest mission was a “tangible demonstration” of what they are capable of carrying out, even at distances far away from Israel.
“This is our fourth strike in Yemen and we are not finished yet,” Gen. Bar said. “Once again, the IDF has demonstrated its ability to reach and strike any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel. Over the years, we have developed capabilities to strike very far from Israel’s territory - precisely, powerfully, and repetitively.”
Israel is carefully selecting targets inside Houthi-controlled Yemen to prevent any major potential escalation from the attacks, officials with the think tank Foundation for the Defense of Democracies said.
“The Houthis — and their Iranian sponsors — must now question the safety of their movements after strikes on seaports and the airport. Each 4,000-kilometer round-trip bombing sortie executed by the IDF without losses or friction sends a clear message,” FDD CEO Mark Dubowitz said in a social media post. “Tehran is undoubtedly watching warily, as these operations double as training runs for a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities.”
The head of the World Health Organization was at the airport in Yemen when the IDF strikes began. WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was in the country to negotiate the release of U.N. staff detained in Yemen, and to assess the health and humanitarian situations there.
“The airport came under aerial bombardment. One of our plane’s crew members was injured,” Mr. Ghebreyesus said after the incident. “At least two people were reported killed at the airport. The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged.”
U.N. officials weren’t injured in the IDF attack, but Mr. Ghebreyesus said they won’t be able to leave until the damaged runway is fixed.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.