Israel launched deadly airstrikes on Houthi positions, power centers in Yemen

Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen early Thursday and threatened more attacks against the Iran-allied militant group, which fired hundreds of missiles into Israel last year.

With Israeli jets in the air, the Israeli army said it intercepted a missile headed for central Israel, destroying a school building in the city of Ramat Efal in what a military spokesman described as artillery fire.

The Israeli attack, which included 14 warplanes and other aircraft, took place in two waves, with the first series of strikes on the ports of Salif and Ras Issa and the second series hitting the capital Sanaa, military spokesman Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters.

“We have made extensive preparations for these activities in an effort to refine our intelligence and make more strikes,” he said.

Al Masirah TV, a major television news channel owned by the Houthis, said the airstrikes killed nine people, seven in Salif and two in the Ras Issa oil field, in the western province of Hodeidah.

In Sanaa, the strikes were also targeted at two power stations in the south and north of the capital, Al Masirah, which he said cut power to thousands of families.

The Israeli attack followed Monday’s US airstrikes against a command and control center operated by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen.

Enemy of the Red Sea

The Houthis – who launched an international naval attack near Yemen since November last year, in cooperation with the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas – said they had targeted the Israeli city of Tel Aviv overnight with two ballistic missiles and hit “direct soldiers. the target.”

They also vowed to respond to Israeli attacks.

“Israel’s attack will not stop Yemen from responding to this terrible violence and supporting Gaza,” the group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised address.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will continue to respond to Houthi attacks.

“Whoever raises a hand against the land of Israel, his hand will be cut off; whoever harms, he will be wounded seven times,” said Katz on the X site.

The Israeli military said experts were examining the site of the strike in Ramat Efal and were trying to confirm whether one or two missiles had been fired.

Some Israeli media reported that the missile hit a school, but Shoshani said initial indications were that it was hit by missile debris.

Another possibility is that the fuel tank “which is a large metal, continued to work” after the missile was intercepted, he said.

The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023 after Hamas led a surprise attack on Israel.

The Houthis seized one ship and sank two in the operation which killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have been intercepted by various US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or have failed to reach their targets, including Western warships.

WATCH l After a long civil war, signs point to Iran’s support for the Houthi attack (April):

How the Houthis became the Middle East’s biggest troublemakers

Once a rag-tag group in Yemen – one of the world’s poorest countries – Iran has helped the Houthis become major players capable of disrupting global shipping in the Red Sea. CBC’s Paul Hunter breaks down the rise of the Houthis and what the world needs to watch. [Correction: In a previous version of this video, we reported that Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by several countries and entities, including the United Nations. In fact, the UN does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.]

The rebels have said they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the US or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis fought a coalition led by Saudi Arabia in the worst situation in several years in the wider war in Yemen that has killed more than 150,000 people, including civilians. The conflict has sparked one of the world’s worst disasters that is believed to have killed tens of thousands more.