Israel launches strikes on Houthi-controlled port in Yemen

Israeli fighter jets have struck Houthi military targets in the area of Hodeidah port in Yemen, the country’s military has said.

The strike is in response to hundreds of attacks carried out against Israel in recent months, the Israel Defence Forces said.

Al-Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Yemen’s Houthi movement, reported that the strikes were directed against oil facilities in the port and caused fatalities.

Hodeidah residents told Reuters by phone that explosions were heard throughout the city during an intensive bombardment.

On Friday, a long-range Iranian-made drone hit the centre of Tel Aviv in an attack claimed by the Houthi militia and which killed one man and wounded four others, the Israeli military and emergency services said.

“IDF fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the area of the (Hodeidah) port in Yemen in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the state of Israel in recent months,” Israel’s military said.

The Iranian-backed Houthis have intensified attacks against Israel and Western targets, which they say is a demonstration of their solidarity with Palestinians.

They began attacking Western ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden after Israel invaded the Gaza Strip following last year’s attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel.

“A brutal Israeli aggression targeted civilian buildings, oil facilities and power station in Hodeidah aiming at pressuring Yemen to stop supporting Gaza… but the attack will only increase our determination, steadfastness, continuity,” Mohammed Abdulsalam, the chief negotiator for Houthi movement, said in a statement on X.

Additional reporting by Reuters

This is a breaking story and it is being updated