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Israeli warplanes have targeted port and energy targets across Yemen, including its first strikes on the capital Sanaa, the third direct attack by Israel against Iran-backed Houthi militants this year.
The Israeli military said it had launched "accurate strikes" against targets that had "contributed [the Houthis’] Military operations”, including port facilities on the Red Sea coast at Hodeidah, As-Salif and Ras Issa, as well as energy installations in Sanaa. Nine people were killed in the attacks, according to Houthi-controlled media reports.
The early Thursday attack came shortly after the Houthis, who control Yemen, fired ballistic missiles into the country that were intercepted by Israel's air defenses. Residents of central Israel were awakened by air raid sirens, and a school outside Tel Aviv was badly damaged by what officials said may have been missile fragments.
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a direct threat to the group's leaders on Thursday, saying "Israel's long arm will reach you too".
“Whoever raises his hand against the State of Israel - his hand will be cut off. Whoever harms us - he will be harmed sevenfold," he added.
After an October 7, 2023 attack by the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas, the Houthis began firing on merchant ships in the Red Sea and launched drones and missiles at Israel, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians. are doing Their attacks severely disrupted shipping through one of the world's most important sea trade routes.
Together with Hamas, Lebanese militants Hezbollah and Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, the Houthis form an Iran-led "axis of resistance" whose capabilities have been severely curtailed by Israel in recent months.
A multinational naval task force led by US and UK forces has attempted to protect merchant ships in the region. On Monday it carried out airstrikes on what the US military said was a Houthi "command and control facility" in Sana'a.
According to the Israeli military, Hathi has launched "hundreds" of missiles and armed drones at Israel, including most recently a long-range missile that hit central Israel on Monday. An Israeli military official confirmed that the jets were "already in the air" on Thursday when the latest Houthi missile was fired.
"This operation was pre-planned. . . it's not something you accomplish within five minutes of launching a ballistic missile," the official added.
A Houthi drone attack last July Killing a person in Tel AvivIn which a US embassy building was being considered as a target. That attack marked the first direct long-range strikes by Israel on Yemen, targeting port facilities in Hodeidah. Sustained missile barrages on Israel followed the bombing in September.
The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks on both Israel and international shipping until the war in Gaza ends.
The Houthis' military spokesman, General Yahya Sariye, claimed on Thursday that the group had fired two "hypersonic ballistic missiles" at Israeli military targets, calling it a "natural and legitimate response" to airstrikes on Yemen.
“The Israeli attack will not deter Yemen and the Yemeni people from fulfilling their religious and moral duty to respond. [Israel’s] Carnage in the Gaza Strip,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Additional reporting by Ahmed Al Omran