Israeli fighter jets struck Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, a day after the Iran-backed terrorists launched a deadly drone attack on Tel Aviv, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The Israeli airstrikes mark another escalation in the Middle East war, which now sees Israel conducting military operations across the region, including in the Gaza Strip and along its northern border against Lebanon-based Hezbollah.
Israel is also believed to have carried out in April a retaliatory airstrikes against Iran after the Islamic Republic launched its own major drone-and-missile attack against the Jewish state.
Saturday’s strike against Yemen’s Houthis, the first time Israel has carried out attacks on Yemen, reportedly struck oil storage facilities and electric power infrastructure in the port city of Hodeidah, setting off a major blaze the firefighters were still battling Sunday morning. Israeli forces said the target was chosen because Iranian arms to the rebel group were frequently shipped through that port.
Houthi medical authorities told the Reuters news agency that at least six people were killed and 80 others injured in the strikes, numbers that could not be independently confirmed.
A military spokesman for the rebel group, which has been engaged in a civil war with an internationally backed government for control of the Middle East’s poorest country, vowed to avenge the latest strike. Israeli officials said Sunday they had intercepted at least one surface-to-surface missile fired from Houthi positions inside Yemen Sunday in apparent retaliation for the strike.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebel group’s “response to the Israeli aggression against our country is inevitably coming and will be huge.” But Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel acted in legitimate self-defense and that other Iranian allies who are attacking Israel over the Gaza war should take note.
“The fire that is burning now in Hodeidah, is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear,” Mr. Gallant said in a statement, adding Israel would carry out similar strikes “in any place where it may be required,” The Associated Press reported.
In a post on X, Israel framed the strikes as payback for numerous attempted Houthi attacks on Israel over the past nine months, which followed Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist assault on the Jewish state. The Houthis have pledged solidarity with the Palestinian militant group. Both groups are backed by Tehran.
“A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the area of [Hodeidah] in Yemen in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the state of Israel in recent months,” the IDF said. The jets used in the attack were U.S.-made F-15s and F-35s.
The Houthis have repeatedly fired drones and missiles toward Israel, in addition to their campaign to disrupt commercial ship traffic in and around the Red Sea. Those attacks were mostly unsuccessful, as the Houthi missiles and drones were routinely intercepted by Israeli defenses. But that changed Friday, when a Houthi drone strike hit central Tel Aviv, killing one person and injuring at least 10.
The strike took place near a U.S. diplomatic complex.
Since January, the U.S. and Britain have led a multinational air campaign targeting Houthi positions along Yemen’s coast. Those strikes have slowed the Houthi attacks against commercial ships, but have not completely stopped them.
On Sunday, U.S. and British military officials said the Houthis repeatedly targeted a Liberia-flagged container vessel transiting the Red Sea, but the attack was fought off and the crew was safe, the AP reported.
• David R. Sands contributed to this report.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.