Israeli Strikes Houthi Targets In Yemen After Recent Attack

In response to missile fire from Iran-aligned militants at Israel over the past two days, Israel claimed that it bombed Houthi targets in Yemen on Sunday, thereby opening a new front in the Middle East conflict.

According to a statement issued by the Houthi-controlled Health Ministry, the Israeli strikes resulted in the deaths of at least four individuals and the injury of 29 others. Additionally, residents reported that the bombing had caused power outages in the majority of the port city of Hodeidah.

In a statement, the Israeli military claimed that dozens of aircraft, including fighter jets, had attacked power plants and a sea port in Hodeidah, as well as the port of Ras Issa.

It was the second such Israeli attack on Yemen in just over two months. After a Yemeni drone struck Tel Aviv and killed one man, Israeli warplanes struck Houthi military targets near Hodeidah in July.

“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,” according to the military statement.

Since the Gaza war commenced with a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, Yemen’s Houthi militants, who are supported by Iran, have fired missiles and drones at Israel on numerous occasions in an effort to demonstrate their solidarity with the Palestinians.

The Houthis claimed to have launched a ballistic missile toward the Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv in their most recent attack on Saturday. Israel claimed to have intercepted the missile. Another Houthi missile was intercepted by Israel on Friday.

Mohammed Abdulsalam, a spokesperson for the Houthis, stated in a post on X that the group would not “abandon Gaza and Lebanon” as a result of the Israeli strikes that occurred on Sunday.

Iran condemned the Israeli strikes, alleging that they had targeted civilian infrastructure. President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Israel should not be permitted to attack countries in the Iran-aligned “Axis of Resistance” in succession.

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Houthi movement’s ally in an Iran-backed alliance that opposes Israel, was previously mourned by the movement after his death in a Beirut airstrike by Israel.