Israel conducted airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Yemen, one day after a Houthi-launched drone hit Tel Aviv.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel’s goal was to send a message to the Houthi movement. A Houthi-linked news source reported that three people were killed and over 80 injured in Saturday’s strikes, which Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam condemned as “brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen.”
On Sunday morning, the Israeli military announced that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen before it entered Israeli airspace. The military also activated air sirens in Israel’s Red Sea port of Eilat due to the possibility of falling debris.
This marks the first time Israel has directly responded to what it claims have been numerous Yemeni drone and missile attacks targeting its territory in recent months.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated, “After nine months of continuous aerial attacks by the Houthis in Yemen toward Israel, IAF [Israeli Air Force] fighter jets conducted an extensive operational strike over 1,800km away against Houthi terrorist military targets” in the vicinity of the port of Hodeidah.
Mr. Gallant explained to a BBC reporter that Israel targeted the group because they had harmed Israelis, adding, “The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking after the attacks on Saturday evening, declared that his country would defend itself “by all means” and that anyone who harmed Israel would pay a heavy price for their aggression.
On Friday, a residential building in Tel Aviv was struck by an Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), modified for long-range flight, according to an Israeli military official.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack resulted in the death of a 50-year-old man who had recently moved to Israel from Belarus and injured eight others.
The Israeli military official stated that their defensive forces had detected the incoming drone but did not attempt to shoot it down due to “human error.” Previously, almost all Houthi missiles and drones fired towards Israel had been intercepted, and none had reached Tel Aviv.
While Israel has not previously targeted the Houthis in Yemen, the US and UK have been conducting airstrikes against the group for months to prevent them from attacking commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Initially, the Houthis claimed to be targeting ships related to Israel or traveling to and from Israel, but many of the vessels have no connection to Israel.
