An ongoing storyAn ongoing story,
The airstrikes on the port city came a day after a drone attack by a Yemeni group killed one person in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli military said it had launched attacks on Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah in retaliation for Houthi attacks.
Saturday’s airstrike came a day after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for it. Drone Attack One person died in Tel Aviv.
The Houthi-aligned Al-Masira TV said Saturday’s attack targeted an oil storage facility and a power plant in Hodeidah, sparking a fire in the area. The news agency quoted health officials as saying the airstrikes caused casualties, including deaths, but did not give a specific number.
However, the Israeli military claimed it had struck “military targets” in Yemen.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam said “Israel’s brutal aggression in Yemen” was “aimed at pressuring Yemen to stop supporting Gaza, but that is a dream that will never come true.”
He added that the attack “will only further strengthen the resolve of the Yemeni people and their brave armed forces.”
The Palestinian militant group Hamas was quick to condemn the attack, with its political bureau member Izzat al-Rishq saying in a statement: “The occupied country will undoubtedly be burned by the fire that broke out in Hodeidah today, and the increase in Zionist crimes will change the entire situation.”
The Iran-allied Houthis, who describe themselves as Yemen’s official military force, have been targeting Red Sea shipping lanes to pressure Israel to end its invasion of Yemen. Gaza War.
The group has also fired ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, most of which have been intercepted.
But early Friday, a Houthi drone packed with explosives evaded Israeli air defenses and struck a building in Tel Aviv, in what Israel saw as a major security breach.
Israeli officials have promised to respond. In a message to the Houthis, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed that Israel would “finish off” those who undermine its security.
The United States and Britain have been conducting airstrikes in Yemen for months in retaliation for Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, but the military campaign has failed to halt the Yemeni group’s attacks.
Al Jazeera’s Hamda Salhat said the latest developments would put a strain on Israel’s “already stretched” forces.
Salhat said Israeli reservists were already serving in both the north and south of the country.
“If the air force has to be deployed to more parts of the Middle East, like Yemen, it’s hard to say exactly how they will manage that while they are still recruiting military personnel,” she said, adding, “It’s a lot of pressure for Israel because another front has opened this morning.”
This is an ongoing story, more to come.
