Israeli airstrikes hit Yemeni capital and rebel-held port after Houthi attack on Israel

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – A series of intense Israeli airstrikes rocked Yemen's rebel-held capital and port city early Thursday, killing at least nine people, officials said, shortly after a Houthi missile struck central Israel.

Thursday's strikes risk escalating tensions with the Iranian-backed Houthis, whose attacks on the Red Sea corridor have had a major impact on shipping around the world. The rebels have so far avoided the same level of heavy-handed military strikes against the Palestinian terror group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, which are members of Tehran's self-described “Axis of Resistance.”

The Houthi-controlled al-Masirah satellite channel said some of the strikes targeted power stations in the capital, as well as the Ras Isa oil facility on the Red Sea. The channel, quoting its correspondent in the port of Hodeida, said that at least seven people died in the port near Salif, while two others were killed in the Ras Isa oil complex.

Others were also injured in the port of Hodeida, he said.

The Israeli military statement did not provide details on the targets hit, or any damage assessment.

“The targets hit (by Israeli forces) were used by Houthi forces for military purposes,” the statement said. “These strikes are degrading the Houthi terrorist regime, preventing it from pursuing military and terrorist objectives, including smuggling Iranian weapons into the region.”

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for Israel's military, said the strikes hit electrical and port infrastructure, which he alleged the rebels “have been using in ways that have had a military effect.”

“Israel will not hesitate to take action to protect itself and its citizens from Houthi attacks,” said Hagari.

Rebel-held Hodeida, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of Sanaa, has been key to Yemen's food exports as its decade-long war continues. It is also suspected that weapons from Iran have been transferred to the port.

The strikes came after the Israeli military said its military intercepted a missile launched from Yemen before it entered the country's territory.

“Rocket and missile sirens sounded following possible debris fall during the blockade,” the Israeli military said. Bells rang in and around Tel Aviv, and a loud explosion was heard overhead at that time. The Houthis did not immediately call for missile strikes, but said an important military statement would be issued in the coming hours, following a pattern of how they say they have been attacked.

Israel previously attacked Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv. In September, Israel launched another attack on Hodeida, killing at least four people after a rebel missile targeted Israel's Ben Gurion Airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country.

The US military has also launched a series of strikes against the Houthis for a year due to Houthi naval attacks in the Red Sea corridor. On Monday, the US military's Central Command said it had reached a “key command and control center” used by the Houthis in Sanaa, later identified as the al-Ardi base that was once home to the government's Defense Ministry.

But it appears that Israel carried out Thursday's strikes alone. A US military official, who did not want to be named to discuss the attacks, said the US had no part in it. While the US has carried out strikes against the Houthis in the past, it is also weighing Saudi Arabia's desire to reach a ceasefire in its ongoing war with the rebels.

The Houthis have targeted 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023 after a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 250 captured. Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say.

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.

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 have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition in a wide-ranging 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.

But the Houthis are still standing as Israel's campaign against Hamas and Hezbollah has eliminated those militant groups. Meanwhile, Israel and Iran exchanged fire as the Syrian government, Israel's adversary since its founding in 1948, fell to rebel advances as fighting in the region boosted Iran's network of allies.