Israeli warplanes today struck targets around the Houthi-held Red Sea port of Hudaydah, Yemen, in retaliation for a drone attack by Iran-backed rebels on Tel Aviv that killed one person and exposed the vulnerability of Israeli air defences. The rebels claimed three people were killed in the attacks, which triggered huge fires and sent plumes of black smoke.
Israel said the attack, named Operation “Outstretched Arm,” was the farthest the Israeli air force has ever carried out. It is also Israel’s first attack in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country.
“This operation struck targets located 1,800 kilometers from our borders,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement. “It makes it clear to our enemies that there is no place the long arm of the State of Israel cannot reach.”
Describing the strikes, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it attacked targets around the Yemeni port as it serves as “a gateway for Iranian weapons to the Houthi terrorist regime and a vital economic source for them”.
“Over the past few months, the Houthis have been working to destabilize the Middle East. Houthi terrorist attacks are funded and directed by Iran, threatening maritime freedom in the region, regional ports, the Suez Canal, and global trade as a whole,” the IDF said.
The rebel-run health ministry said in a statement carried by Houthi media that three people were killed and 87 wounded in the Israeli attacks. The ministry had earlier said most of the injured had suffered severe burns.
Footage broadcast by the rebel-owned al-Masirah television showed the wounded being treated at a hospital, many of them bandaged and lying on stretchers in packed rooms.
One man interviewed by the broadcaster said many of the injured were port workers. “The city is dark, people are on the streets, petrol stations are closed and there are long queues,” he said.
The Houthis began targeting Israel with drones and missiles shortly after the war between the Israeli army and Hamas began in Gaza in October. None of these attacks are believed to have caused significant damage in Israel so far, as most of the missiles were intercepted or failed to reach the country.
Houthi rebels say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians and will continue attacks until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
