Israel attacks Houthi militia in Yemen

Middle East conflict

Israel attacks Houthi militia in Yemen

The Houthi militia in Yemen, which is allied with Iran, has been attacking Israel since the beginning of the Gaza war. A school is hit and is in ruins. Israel strikes back.

The Israeli Air Force says it has bombed ports and the capital Sanaa in response to rocket and drone attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Dozens of fighter jets, tanker aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft were deployed in a total of two waves of attacks against the military targets around 1,700 kilometers away. “We have responded to the Houthis’ repeated attacks on civilian targets in Israel,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

All three of the Houthi militia’s most important ports were hit and paralyzed, an army spokesman said. Not only weapons from Iran will come into the country through the ports, but also international aid deliveries for the population in the civil war country. The capital Sanaa was also attacked for the first time, where the energy infrastructure was hit, said the military spokesman. It was Israel’s third airstrike against the Houthi militia, following bombings in July and September.

According to media reports close to the Houthi militia, nine people were killed in the attacks in the west of the country. There were seven deaths in an attack on the important port of Salif and two in attacks on an oil facility in Ras Isa, reported the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television station.

According to Israeli information, the port of Hudaydah was bombed again. According to a report in the Times of Israel newspaper, almost all tugboats in the ports were destroyed, without which larger ships can hardly be maneuvered to the quays.

Israel had previously repelled a rocket attack by Houthi rebels in Yemen during the night. According to Israeli army information, the attacks in Yemen were not a direct response to this, but had been planned for some time. The Houthi militia claimed responsibility for the attack. It was aimed at two “military objectives” in Israel.

After the rocket was intercepted from Yemen, parts hit a school near Tel Aviv. The building and the surrounding area were so badly damaged that the army assumed that the warhead of the missile, which was destroyed in mid-air, hit the building and exploded. The school in Ramat Efal partially collapsed. Because the attack happened early in the morning, there were no casualties. If it had happened just a little later than the start of school, there could have been a catastrophe, said an army spokesman. In central Israel, including the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, there was an air alert and millions of people had to go to shelters at night.

The pro-Iranian Houthi militia, like Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, is allied with Israel’s arch-enemy Iran. According to a report in the Times of Israel newspaper, the Houthi militia has fired around 200 rockets and 170 drones into Israel in the past twelve months. Israel was able to intercept most of the projectiles. According to its own statements, the militia wants to support Hamas in the Gaza Strip against Israel.

The Islamist Hamas and other extremists from the Gaza Strip carried out a massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, leaving 1,200 dead and abducting around 250 people to the coastal strip. Israel has been fighting in the Gaza Strip ever since. After suffering heavy losses, Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire with Israel at the end of November. However, the Houthi militia continued its sporadic shelling.