Israel has bombed Yemen's ports and the country's capital Sana'a in response to more than a year of missile and drone attacks launched by Iran-allied Houthi militias, the military said Thursday.
Dozens of warplanes, tankers and reconnaissance planes were deployed in two waves to attack military targets within 1,700 kilometers of Israel, according to the military.
“We did this because of the Houthi's repeated attacks against civilians targeting Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Since the war in Gaza began more than a year ago, Yemen's Houthis have targeted Israel and merchant ships in the Red Sea, claiming that these actions are aligned with the Palestinian organization Hamas in Gaza.
Three key ports used by the Houthis, Israel's long-time enemy, were knocked out of action on Thursday, a military spokesman said.
The ports are not only considered an important trading center for the supply of Iranian weapons to the Houthis, but they are also used to send international aid to the people of the impoverished, war-torn country on the Red Sea.
Israel again attacks the capital
For the first time, the Israeli Air Force also launched strikes on the capital Sana'a, bombing the city's electrical infrastructure, the spokesman said.
It was the third time Israel has targeted the Houthis with airstrikes following attacks in July and September.
Nine people were killed in Thursday's strikes in the western coastal province of Hodeidah, the Houthi-affiliated al-Masirah broadcaster reported.
Al-Masirah TV reported that seven people died in the port of al-Salif and two others in the oil center Ras Isa.
It also reported strikes targeting two power plants in the capital Sana'a.
One power plant, north of Sana'a controlled by the Houthis, did not work due to the bombing, depriving the city of more than 30% of its electricity needs, al-Masirah reported.
According to Israel, the port of Hodeida was also bombed.
Army chief Adel-Malek al-Houthi responded defiantly later on Thursday.
“Israeli violence in our country will never weaken us in our position to support the Palestinian people,” he said in a televised speech.
“We are fully confident in our position and ready to face any level of escalation,” he added, according to al-Masirah.
An Israeli school was hit by shrapnel
Israel called off a missile attack launched on Yemen overnight.
The strikes in Yemen were not a direct response to that attack but were planned in advance, according to the Israeli military.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that they targeted “two specific and critical military positions” in Jaffa near Tel Aviv.
A school near Tel Aviv was seriously injured when a missile fired from Yemen struck early Thursday, according to Israeli media reports.
The Houthis, allied with Israel's arch-enemy Iran, as well as the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah, have continued their attacks on Israel even after the fighting in Lebanon has ended.
According to the Times of Israel, the Houthis have fired approximately 200 missiles and 170 aircraft at Israel in the past 12 months. Israel was able to intercept most of the missiles, it said.
The soldiers said they were working to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been fighting the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas since the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel.
Recently, an Israeli house was hit by a drone from Yemen. In July, a man from Tel Aviv was killed when he was hit by a projectile from Yemen.
In retaliation for the Houthi attacks, Israel targeted areas in Yemen in July and September, including power stations and a port, resulting in many deaths.
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