Israel bombs Huthis in Yemen after rebels attack commercial ship for first time in months

Egypt Independent

13 hours ago

Israel has carried out its first strikes against Huthi targets in Yemen since the Israel-Iran ceasefire, attacking ports and a power plant around midnight local time Sunday night into Monday morning.
The strikes come after at least three Huthi ballistic missiles were launched at Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including one missile that was intercepted Saturday.
The Iran-backed Huthis also claimed responsibility for an attack on the bulk carrier 'Magic Seas' in the Red Sea on Sunday, the first on commercial shipping in the region by the rebels this year.
Israel struck the ports of Hodeida, Ras Isa, Salif and the Ras Kanatib power plant along the Red Sea. The IDF also hit the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship seized by the Huthis in November 2023.
'Huthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,' the IDF said in a statement following the strikes.
A short time before the wave of attacks, the IDF's Arabic language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, issued an evacuation warning for the ports and the power station.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were part of the newly named Operation 'Black Flag.' In a statement on social media, Katz said, 'The Huthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions' and promised more attacks would follow if the Huthis kept launching drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.
The Huthi military confirmed the strikes but said, 'Yemeni air defenses effectively confronted the Israeli aggression,' using, 'a massive barrage of locally manufactured surface-to-air missiles,' in a short statement on early Monday morning.
There are no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes.
Huthi political bureau member Mohammed Al Farah said targeting Yemeni ports, power stations, and other 'civilian facilities is an attempt to harm civilians and has no connection to any military activity,' according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.
Since Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza started in October 2023, the country has come under fire from missiles and rockets from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Huthis in Yemen, who claim to strike Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.
On Sunday, the Houthis attacked the 'Magic Seas' ship, claiming that the its owner had used Israeli ports.
The rebels said they had struck the vessel with unmanned boats, missiles and drones, and it had now sunk. They have warned that they will target shipping that uses ports in Israel, which they describe as 'occupied Palestine.'
The vessel's operator – Stem Shipping – told Reuters that the 'Magic Seas' had made a port call to Israel in the past, but the latest transit of the region appeared low-risk as it had nothing to do with Israel.
The 'Magic Seas' crew of 19 left the boat on Sunday and were being taken by another ship to Djibouti.
The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry said an Emirati operation rescued everyone aboard the ship, in close coordination with organizations like the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). A vessel responded to a distress call from the 'Magic Seas' after it came under attack and sustained 'damage' to its structure, causing its crew to abandon ship under 'difficult maritime conditions' the ministry said.
In May, the Huthi group – which controls much of northern and central Yemen – agreed to halt attacks on US warships in the Red Sea after more than a month of airstrikes by US forces on its strongholds and missile infrastructure.
But it did not pledge to end attacks on other shipping with alleged connections to Israel and has continued to fire ballistic missiles at Israel in support of the Palestinian population in Gaza.
This story has been updated with additional developments.