The Israeli military bombed the Yemeni capital of Sanaa for the second time within a week on Thursday as the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have continued their attacks on Israel in response to the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials claimed to Israeli media outlets that the strike targeted a group of 10 senior officials who were gathered to hear a speech by Ansar Allah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, but Houthi officials denied the claim.
“What is happening is the targeting of civilian objects and the entire Yemeni people due to their supportive stance toward Gaza,” said Houthi official Nasr al-Din Amer, according to Al Jazeera.
A Yemeni military source described Israel’s claims in comments to Al Mayadeen as “psychological and propaganda warfare” that is “ineffective and will have no impact on the course of operations.”
So far, there have been no reports of casualties in the strikes. In a statement on the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz referenced the “plague of the firstborn,” referencing the Biblical narrative from the book of Exodus about the plague brought upon Egypt that resulted in the deaths of all firstborn males.
“As we warned the Houthis in Yemen: After the plague of darkness comes the plague of the firstborn,” Katz said, according to The Times of Israel.
Most of Israel’s attacks on Yemen have involved strikes on infrastructure, which Katz appeared to be referencing by mentioning the “plague of darkness.” Earlier this week, Israeli attacks hit a power plant and an oil facility in Sanaa, killing 10 people.
Israeli strikes on Yemen have done nothing to deter the Houthis, who have been clear that their attacks and blockade on Israeli shipping won’t stop until there’s a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory. Early Wednesday morning, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen.
The US also failed to stop Houthi attacks on Israel during a heavy bombing campaign from March 15 to May 6, which killed more than 250 Yemeni civilians. Israel was recently pushing for the US to start bombing Yemen again, but there’s no sign that the Trump administration will relaunch airstrikes as the Houthis are committed to not targeting US ships in the region, as long as the US doesn’t start targeting Yemen again.
