Israel launches first strikes on Yemen in weeks, Houthis retaliate with aerial attack

Daily Maverick

2 days ago

By Yomna Ehab and Mohammed Ghobari
The strikes hit the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif, as well as the Ras Qantib power plant on the coast, in response to repeated Houthi attacks on Israel, the military said.
Hours later, Israel said two missiles were launched from Yemen. Attempts were made to intercept them, though the results were still under review. The Iran-aligned Houthi forces said they had fired missiles and drones at multiple targets in Israel in retaliation for the strikes on Yemen.
The Israeli ambulance service said it had not received any calls regarding missile impacts or casualties following the launches from Yemen.
Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have fired at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade, in what the group says are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones fired toward Israel have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
Israel said its attacks on Monday also targeted a ship, the Galaxy Leader, which was seized by the Houthis in late 2023 and held in Ras Isa port.
'The Houthi terrorist regime's forces installed a radar system on the ship, and are using it to track vessels in international maritime space in order to promote the Houthi terrorist regime's activities,' the military said.
The Houthi military spokesperson said the group's air defences had responded to the Israeli attack with 'a large number of domestically produced surface-to-air missiles'.
Israel's military told residents to evacuate the three ports before it launched its attacks. Residents of Hodeidah told Reuters that the strikes on the power station had knocked out electricity. There was no immediate information on casualties.
The Israeli assault comes hours after a ship was attacked off of Hodeidah and the ship's crew abandoned it as it took on water. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but security firm Ambrey said the vessel fit the typical profile of a Houthi target.
The Houthis, who control northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa, are one of the last pro-Iran armed groups still standing in the Middle East after Israel severely hurt other allies of Tehran: Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran itself in a 12-day air war last month.
Under the direction of leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the group has grown into an army of tens of thousands of fighters and acquired armed drones and ballistic missiles. Saudi Arabia and the West say the arms come from Iran, though Tehran denies this.