Israel Launches Airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeida Port, Days After Drone Attack in Tel Aviv
TEL AVIV, Israel – Israeli fighter jets bombed the strategic port of Hodeida in Yemen on Saturday, days after a deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv claimed by Houthi rebels.
The airstrikes targeted military targets in the region of the port, which is controlled by the Houthis, a day after a Houthi drone strike killed one person in Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "I have a message for Israel’s enemies: We will defend ourselves by all means, on all fronts. Anyone who attacks us will pay a very heavy price."
The Israeli military said its "fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the region of the port of Hodeida."
The port of Hodeida is essential for humanitarian aid and serves as "the main route for the supply of Iranian weapons from Iran to Yemen, starting with the drone used in the attack" in Tel Aviv, accused army spokesman Daniel Hagari.
The Houthi rebel-run health ministry said the attacks left "80 people injured, most of them with severe burns."
Fire and Flames
According to Mohamed Abdelsalam, a senior Houthi official, the attack targeted "fuel storage facilities and a power station" that supplies electricity to Hodeida, "to pressure Yemen to stop supporting" the Palestinians.
A New and Dangerous Phase
The United States, Israel’s ally, recognized Israel’s right to self-defense, but emphasized that it was not involved in the attacks.
The war in Yemen, a poor country on the Arabian Peninsula, has been between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government since 2014 and has caused one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world.
The port of Hodeida is a key entry point for fuel and goods into rebel-held areas, and traders fear that the attacks will worsen the already critical humanitarian and food security situation in northern Yemen.
For the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, an ally of the Houthi rebels, Saturday’s attacks in Yemen herald "a new and dangerous phase of a very important confrontation across the region."
Source: AFP