Dozens of Israeli planes strike port, power plants in Yemen after ...

(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) The Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes Sunday against infrastructure in western Yemen that the military said was used by the Houthis, in a response to recent ballistic missile attacks on the Jewish state carried out by the Iran-backed group.

It was only the second-ever Israeli strike in Yemen, after in July, the IAF conducted an attack on Yemen’s Hodeidah port after a drone hit Tel Aviv, killing a man in his apartment.

Four people were killed and 29 wounded in the attack, the Houthi-run health ministry said in a statement.

The strike in Yemen on Sunday was more extensive than the one in July. It also came as the IAF had struck targets in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and allegedly in Syria during the day, amid a multifront war.

On Saturday, a missile fired by the Houthis at central Israel was shot down without causing injuries. The terror group said it was aimed at Ben Gurion Airport, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane had just landed, bringing him home from New York.

In a statement Sunday, the military said that dozens of IAF aircraft, including fighter jets, refuelers and spy planes, participated in the strikes some 1,800 kilometers from Israel.

The strikes targeted sites used by the Houthi regime for military purposes at the port city of Hodeidah and the nearby Ras Isa port in western Yemen, the IDF said.

“The IDF attacked power plants and a port, which are used to import oil. Through the targeted infrastructure and ports, the Houthi regime transfers Iranian weapons to the region, and supplies for military purposes, including oil,” the military said.

The strikes caused power outages in most parts of the port city of Hodeidah, residents told Reuters.

The IDF said the strikes were carried out in response to the Houthis recent ballistic missile attacks on Israel, including three this month, the latest being on Saturday.

“Over the past year, the Houthis have been operating under the direction and funding of Iran, and in cooperation with Iraqi militias in order to attack the State of Israel, undermine regional stability, and disrupt global freedom of navigation,” the military continued.

“The IDF is determined to continue operating at any distance — near or far — against all threats to the citizens of the State of Israel,” it added.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who observed the strike from the IAF’s command room, said on X: “Our message is clear, for us, no place is too far.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Israel can reach even farther away enemies.

“We know how to reach very far, we know how to reach even farther, and we know how to strike there accurately,” Halevi said during a meeting with senior officers, amid the strike in Yemen. “This isn’t a message, it’s an action.”

The chief of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, in a video released by the IDF, said: “Whoever harms, or tries to harm Israeli citizens, we will reach them. It’s that simple.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned the strikes, saying in a statement that they had targeted “civilian infrastructure” such as a power plant and fuel tanks.

“Iran once again warns about the consequences of the Zionist regime’s (Israel) warmongering on regional and international peace and security,” spokesperson Nasser Kanaani added.

On Saturday evening, a surface-to-surface ballistic missile launched at central Israel from Yemen evening was shot down by air defenses “outside the country’s borders,” the IDF said.

The missile caused sirens to sound in central Israel due to fears of falling shrapnel. Its remains fell near the Jerusalem-area community of Tzur Hadassah, causing slight damage, police said.

The missile was fired shortly after the Iran-backed Houthis vowed that “the resistance won’t be broken,” in response to the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an IDF airstrike in Beirut on Friday.

The leader of the Houthis said the missile was aimed and timed to coincide with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s landing in Israel after returning from New York. In a televised speech, Abdul Malik al-Houthi also vowed that the death of Nasrallah “will not be in vain.” The prime minister’s plane, known as Wing of Zion, had landed in Israel some 35 minutes before the sirens sounded.

The Houthis also took responsibility for an attack Friday morning, saying they had launched a ballistic missile at a military target in Tel Aviv and a drone at a “vital target” in Ashkelon. The missile was intercepted. The IDF said it was unaware of any drone reaching Israel.

Earlier this month, the Houthis launched another surface-to-surface missile at Tel Aviv, which was partially intercepted. Shrapnel from the missile landed in an open area a few kilometers southeast of Ben Gurion Airport, sparking a fire.

Yemen’s Houthis have fired over 220 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at Israel over the past 11 months — mostly toward the southernmost city of Eilat — saying, similarly to Hezbollah, that the attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been battling Hamas since the Palestinian terror group’s October 7 attack.

Israel has killed the vast majority of Hezbollah’s top leadership in the past few weeks.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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