HODEIDAH PORT, YEMEN – In a significant escalation, Israeli airstrikes targeted Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saturday, July 20, 2024, a day after the Iran-backed group claimed responsibility for a deadly drone attack on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
This marks the first time Israel has struck Yemen, according to Israeli officials.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that its fighter jets struck “military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime” in the area of Yemen’s Hodeidah Port.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the airstrikes were a direct response to the death of a 50-year-old Israeli in the Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv on Friday.
The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that the Israeli strikes targeted oil facilities in the port on Yemen’s west coast, injuring at least 80 people, most of whom suffered severe burns.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam claimed the strikes also hit civilian targets and a power station, describing the attack as “brutal Israeli aggression” intended to increase the suffering of the Yemeni people and pressure them to stop supporting Gaza.
In response, Houthi army spokesperson Yehya Saree vowed retaliation, warning that the Houthis would not hesitate to strike Israel’s “vital targets” and that Tel Aviv was still not safe.
“We have prepared for a long war with this enemy until the aggression stops and the blockade on the Palestinian people is lifted,” Saree said.
Netanyahu, in a statement on Saturday, defended the strikes, asserting that Hodeidah was “not an innocent port.”
He claimed it was used for military purposes and as an entry point for deadly weapons supplied to the Houthis by Iran.
“It makes it clear to our enemies that there is no place that the long arm of the state of Israel will not reach,” Netanyahu said.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari added that the strikes were also in response to approximately 200 projectiles fired towards Israel by the Houthi rebels since October, when Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza began.
The Houthi attack on Tel Aviv on Friday, which also injured 10 people, was claimed to be executed by a new drone capable of bypassing interception systems, according to the Houthis.
The group has also regularly targeted US assets and commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
In response to these attacks, the UK and the US have conducted strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, though this latest strike by Israel was carried out independently.
An Israeli defense official told CNN that this was a 100% Israeli operation, marking a departure from previous reliance on US and UK responses to Houthi attacks.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had informed US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin before the strike was conducted.
A White House official confirmed that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the developments, and a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council stated that while the US had not coordinated with Israel on the airstrikes, it fully recognizes Israel’s right to self-defense.
In the wake of the strikes, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir congratulated Netanyahu and suggested adopting a similar policy against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also supported the operation, emphasizing the importance of responding forcefully to attacks on Israeli citizens.
Hezbollah condemned the attack on Yemen and expressed solidarity with the Yemeni people.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz called on the international community to maximize sanctions on Iran, labeling it as the primary supporter of the Houthi terror organization.
“Iran is the head of the snake – it must be stopped now,” Katz said.
