Agencies
Sana’a
Israel on Saturday confirmed it launched airstrikes on Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah in response to attacks by the Houthi group.
The air strikes on Saturday were carried out a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack that killed one person in Tel Aviv and injured 10 others.
Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV said the Israeli attack targeted oil storage facilities and a power plant in Hodeidah, igniting a fire. The news outlet quoted health officials as saying the air raids resulted in casualties, including fatalities, without specifying a number.
But the Israeli military said it hit “military targets” in Yemen.
The Israeli air strikes are the first known direct attack by Israel against the Houthis since the start of the war on Gaza. The assault comes amid growing fears of escalating violence across the Middle East.
The Houthi Supreme Political Council promised to respond to Saturday’s attack. “This aggression will not pass without an effective response against the enemy,” it said in a statement.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam said the “brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen” aims to “pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza, which is a dream that will not come true”.
He added that the attack “will only increase the determination of the Yemeni people and their valiant armed forces”.
