Israel launched strikes on ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen early Thursday and threatened more attacks against the Iran-aligned militant group, which has fired hundreds of missiles at Israel over the past year.
While Israeli planes were flying in the air, the Israeli army said it intercepted a missile heading towards central Israel, destroying a school building in the town of Ramat Efal with what an army spokesman described as falling shrapnel.
The Israeli attack, in which 14 fighter jets and other aircraft participated, came in two waves, with a first series of strikes on the ports of Salif and Ras Issa and a second series that struck the capital, Sanaa, according to army spokesman Lt. Colonel. Nadav Shoshani told reporters.
He added: “We have made extensive preparations for these operations with the aim of improving our intelligence information and improving strikes.”
Al-Masirah TV, the main Houthi-run news outlet, said the airstrikes killed nine people, seven in Al-Saleef and two at the Ras Issa oil facility, both in western Hodeidah governorate.
In Sanaa, the strikes also targeted two central electricity generating stations south and north of the capital, which Al Masirah TV said caused a power outage to thousands of families.
The Israeli attacks followed a strike by US aircraft on Monday against a command and control facility run by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen.
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Hostilities in the Red Sea
The Houthis – who have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November last year in solidarity with the Palestinians in Israel’s war with Hamas – said they targeted the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on the same night with two ballistic missiles, hitting “precise military targets.” “Goals.”
They also pledged to respond to Israeli attacks.
The movement’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a televised speech, “The Israeli attack will not deter Yemen from responding to this brutal aggression and supporting Gaza.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel will continue to respond to Houthi attacks.
Katz said in a post on the X website: “Whoever raises his hand against the State of Israel will have his hand cut off, and whoever harms him will be harmed seven times.”
The Israeli army said that specialists are examining the site of the raid in Ramat Efal and are trying to confirm whether one or two missiles were fired.
Some Israeli media reported that the missile hit the school, but Shoshani said that initial indications indicate that the school was hit by fragments of the missile.
He added that one possibility is that the fuel tank, “a huge piece of metal, continued to operate” after the missile was intercepted.
The Houthis have targeted about 100 commercial ships with missiles and drones since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2023 after Hamas led a surprise attack on Israel.
The Houthis seized one ship and sank two in a campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones were intercepted by separate US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which also included Western military ships.
Once a fractured group in Yemen – one of the world’s poorest countries – Iran has helped the Houthis become a major player capable of disrupting global shipping traffic in the Red Sea. CBC’s Paul Hunter explains the rise of the Houthis and what the world needs to watch. (Correction: In an earlier version of this video, we stated that Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by many countries and entities, including the United Nations. In fact, the United Nations does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.)
The rebels insist they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to the Israeli campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some ships bound for Iran.
The Houthis have fought the Saudi-led coalition to a stalemate over several years in a broader war in Yemen that has killed more than 150,000 people, including civilians. The conflict also led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, which is believed to have claimed tens of thousands more lives.
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