Israel strikes Houthi-held ports, cargo ship in Yemen
The Israeli military says it has carried out air strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in response to repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel.
The military said the targets were the Red Sea ports of Hudaydah, Ras Issa and al-Salif, a nearby power station, and the cargo ship Galaxy Leader. The ship, hijacked by the Houthis in November 2023, was being used to monitor international shipping, according to the military.
The Houthis’ military spokesman said the Iran-backed group’s air defences “successfully” confronted the Israeli attack. There were no reports of any casualties.
Following the strikes, two missiles were launched from Yemen towards Israel, according to the Israeli military.
Sirens were triggered in several areas of the occupied West Bank and southern Israel. The military said it was reviewing its attempt to intercept the missiles.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported that the strikes on Sunday night hit the ports as well as the Ras Kanatib power station, north of Hudaydah, but provided no further details on damage or casualties.
The Israeli military said about 20 fighter jets carried out the operation “in response to the repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel, its civilians, and civilian infrastructure, including the launching of UAVs and surface-to-surface missiles toward Israeli territory”.
It alleged that the ports were used to transfer weapons from Iran and that Houthi forces had installed a radar system on the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader “to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities”.
The Israeli military said the Ras Kanatib power plant, which supplies electricity to the nearby cities of Ibb and Taizz, was used to power Houthi military operations.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that the Houthis “will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions”.
“The fate of Yemen is the same as the fate of Tehran. Anyone who tries to harm Israel will be harmed, and anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have their hand cut off,” he said in a post on X.
