Israel launches series of air strikes on Houthi-controlled city in Yemen day after group claim deadly attack on Tel Aviv
20 July 2024, 19:14 | Updated: 20 July 2024, 19:39
Israel has launched a series of air strikes against the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah in Yemen, a day after the Iran-backed group claimed a deadly attack on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The Houthis' own TV station Al Masirah claimed the bombardment on oil refinery facilities caused fatalities in the western coastal city.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement that his country aimed to send a message to the group.
"The fire that is currently burning in Hodeidah, is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear," he said.
Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam reported a "brutal Israel aggression against Yemen".
Explosions could be heard throughout the city during the attack, the Reuters news agency was told by citizens.
This is the first direct Israeli response despite the hundreds of Yemeni drone and missile attacks aimed at its territory it says to have occurred recently.
The strikes come after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone strike near the US embassy in central Tel Aviv on Friday, which resulted in the death of a 50-year-old man and up to 10 injuries.
A block of flats were hit by what an Israeli military official said was an Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with the Houthis saying it carried out the attack and vowing to stage more.
The latest air strikes from Israel are understood to be the first Israeli strikes on Yemeni soil since the conflict with Hamas in Gaza started following the 7 October attacks.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Saturday: "A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the area of the Al Hudaydah [Hodeidah] Port in Yemen in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the State of Israel in recent months."
IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari has said in a press conference that Israel's allies were informed of the strike before it was carried, but reiterated that the IDF acted alone.
He said the attacks were a "step up in Israel's actions in self-defence" and the military would continue to "defend the people of Israel from threats near and far".
Mr Gallant's statement said: "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."
Meanwhile, Houthi spokesman Nasruddin Amer posted on X that "brutal Israeli aggression" targeted civilian facilities, fuel storage facilities and the province's power station.
He said the air strikes will only make the people of Yemen and its armed forces more determined in their support for Gaza.
