Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen early Thursday and threatened more strikes against the Iran-aligned militant group, which has fired hundreds of missiles at Israel over the past year.

As the Israeli jets were in the air, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile aimed at central Israel, which destroyed a school building in the city of Ramat Efal with what a military spokesman described as to falling shrapnel.

The Israeli strike, involving 14 fighter jets and other aircraft, came in two waves, with a first series of strikes on the ports of Salif and Ras Issa and a second series hitting the capital Sanaa, the spokesman said military lieutenant colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters.

"We made extensive preparations for these operations with efforts to refine our intelligence and optimize strikes," he said.

Al Masirah TV, the main Houthi-run television news channel, said the airstrikes killed nine people, seven in Salif and two at the Ras Issa oil facility, both in the western province of Hodeidah .

In Sanaa, the strikes also targeted two central power stations in the south and north of the capital, which Al Masirah said had cut off electricity to thousands of families.

The Israeli strikes followed Monday's attack by US jets on a command and control facility operated by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen.

Red Sea hostilities

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 had attacked the Israeli city of Tel Aviv the same night with two ballistic missiles and hit "accurate armies". objectives".

They also vowed to respond to Israeli attacks.

"The Israeli attack will not deter Yemen from responding to this heinous aggression and supporting Gaza," the group's military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised address.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will continue to respond to Houthi attacks.

"Whoever raises a hand against the state of Israel, his hand will be cut off; whoever does harm, he will be harmed sevenfold," Katz said in a post on X.

The Israeli military said specialists were examining the site of the attack in Ramat Efal and were trying to confirm whether one or two missiles had been fired.

Some Israeli media reported that the missile had hit the school, but Shoshani said initial indications suggested it was hit by missile debris.

One possibility was that the fuel tank "which is a huge piece of metal, continued to work" after the missile was intercepted, he said.

The Houthis have attacked about 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023 after Hamas led a surprise attack on Israel.

The Houthis have captured one ship and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have been intercepted by separate US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or missed their targets, which also include Western military ships.

WATCH l After a long civil war, signs point to Iran's support for Houthi attacks (April):

How the Houthis Became the Middle East's Leading Disruptors

Iran, once a rag tag group in Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, has helped the Houthis become major players capable of disrupting global maritime traffic in the Red Sea. CBC's Paul Hunter explains the rise of the Houthis and what the world needs to watch out for. (Correction: In an earlier version of this video, we reported that Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by several countries and entities, including the United Nations. In fact, the UN does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.)

The rebels say they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis have fought a Saudi-led coalition to a stalemate for several years in a wider war in Yemen that has killed more than 150,000 people, including civilians. The conflict has also created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters that is believed to have killed tens of thousands more.