Israel airstrikes hit Houthi targets across Yemen, IDF says
The Israel Defence Forces claim they have struck multiple “Houthi terrorist” targets in Yemen on Thursday, including the airport in the capital Sanaa and three ports along the western coast.
Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was in Sanaa airport at the time of the attack.
He said: “As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a, about two hours ago, the airport came under aerial bombardment.
“One of our plane’s crew members was injured. At least two people were reported killed at the airport.
“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged.”
The attacks hit Yemen’s Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations as well as military infrastructure in the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Kanatib, Israel’s military added.
Israel said it struck “military targets” because the Houthis had “repeatedly attacked” Israel, and that these targets had been used to “smuggle Iranian weapons” into the region.
The Houthi movement is a Shia Islamist political and military organisation that emerged in Yemen in the 1990s, and is backed by Iran.
The group has been firing drones and missiles towards Israel in what it describes as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas conflict began.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on Israel’s claims, but the group’s Al Masirah TV news outlet reported attacks on the airport, Hodeidah and on one power station.
Al Masirah also reported that three people were killed in the strikes, and a further 11 were wounded. These figures have not been independently verified and it is not clear whether they relate to civilians or Houthi rebels.
Iran described Israel’s strikes as a “violation” of peace and security.
More than a year of Houthi attacks have disrupted international shipping routes, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys that have in turn stoked fears over global inflation.
Israel has instructed its diplomatic missions in Europe to try to get the Houthis designated as a terrorist organisation.
The UN Security Council is due to meet on Monday over Houthi attacks against Israel, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Israel’s military failed to intercept a missile from Yemen that fell in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area, injuring 14 people.
The attacks follow the news that the Israeli military loosened its rules of engagement on the day of the 7 October attack, enabling mid-ranking officers to target Hamas despite huge civilian cost, according to a report.
At 1pm on 7 October 2023, hours after Hamas launched its deadly raids, Israel’s military leadership issued an order granted mid-ranking Israeli officers the authority to strike a wide range of Hamas militants and military sites, the New York Times reported.
This was a change from previous Gaza wars, when senior Hamas commanders, arms depots and rocket launchers were the main focus.
In each strike, officers had authority to risk killing up to 20 civilians. In practice, it meant the Israel Defence Forces could target rank-and-file militants while at home with family, instead of only when they were alone outside.
Yesterday in Gaza, authorities said an Israeli airstrike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital, though the IDF said it had attacked a vehicle carrying Islamic Jihad militants.
Medics said the five were among at least 21 people killed in Israeli air assaults across the enclave before dawn.
The Palestinian Journalists Union said one strike killed five journalists from the Al-Quds Today channel who were in a broadcast vehicle in front of Al-Awda Hospital in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
