On Thursday morning, dozens of Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes against Yemeni ports and Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, which came after the Houthis fired a missile at Israel.
According to Yemeni media, seven people were killed by Israeli strikes on the port of as-Salif, and two were killed by two strikes on the Ras Isa oil facility. Both the port and oil facility are located in the province of Hodeidah, which is located on the Red Sea. Israeli strikes were also reported in the city of Hodeidah, and two power plants were hit in Sanaa.
According to a statement from the Yemeni Workers Union Federation, the Yemenis killed by the strikes were workers. According to Yemen’s SABA news agency, the federation said in a statement that Israel’s “targeting of the two power plants in the capital, Sanaa, led to the deprivation of thousands of families from electricity, while the attacks on the ports of Hodeidah and Salif and the Ras Issa oil facility resulted in the death and injury of a number of workers in those facilities.”
Houthi officials also said the Israeli strikes hit civilian targets. Israel acknowledged it targeted energy infrastructure but claimed it was used for military purposes. The Israeli military said it “conducted precise strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen, including ports and energy infrastructure in Sana’a, which the Houthis have been using in ways that effectively contributed to their military actions.”
The Israeli military said that the Houthi missile fired at Israel was intercepted, but parts of it or the interceptor landed on the ground, and a chunk hit an elementary school building, causing it to collapse. No one was in the building at the time, and there were no injuries.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed Houthi forces fired two missiles at military sites in Israel, attacks he said coincided with the Israeli strikes on Yemen. He said the missiles were launched “in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people and in response to the massacres against our brothers in Gaza, as part of the fifth phase of support in the Battle of the Promised Conquest and Sacred Jihad and within the framework of responding to Israeli aggression against our country.”
Since last year, the Houthis have been launching attacks on Israel-linked shipping and firing missiles and drones at Israel in response to the onslaught in Gaza. Thursday’s airstrikes marked the third time Israel bombed Yemen.
In January of this year, the US began a new bombing campaign against the Houthis and launched hundreds of missile strikes on Yemen that have done nothing but escalate the situation. The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, started targeting American shipping in response and have expanded their attacks on Israel.
From 2015-2022, the US supported a Saudi/UAE war against the Houthis, which involved heavy airstrikes and a blockade, and the Houthis only became a more capable fighting force during that time.
According to the UN, the war killed at least 377,000 people, with more than half dying of starvation and disease caused by the siege. A ceasefire between the Houthis and Saudis has held relatively well since April 2022, but new US sanctions are blocking the implementation of a lasting peace deal.
