Tel Aviv, Israel (BN24) – Israel launched airstrikes against Houthi-controlled targets across Yemen early Monday, hitting three ports and a power plant in the first Israeli assault on Yemeni territory in nearly a month, the Israeli military said.
The strikes targeted facilities in the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif, as well as the Ras Qantib power plant, which Yemeni residents said was knocked out of service, plunging the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah into darkness.
An Israeli military statement said the bombardment was a direct response to what it described as repeated Houthi attacks on Israel and international shipping lanes. The Iran-backed Houthis have launched dozens of missiles and drones at Israeli territory and vessels in the Red Sea since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, framing their campaign as an act of solidarity with Palestinians. Most of the projectiles have been intercepted or fell short.
The Israeli military also confirmed that warplanes struck the Galaxy Leader, a ship the Houthis seized last year in Ras Isa port. According to Israel, Houthi forces had installed a radar system on the vessel to track maritime traffic and support operations against international shipping.
“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 statement said.
Houthi military spokespersons claimed their air defences responded to the Israeli assault with large numbers of domestically produced surface-to-air missiles. However, they did not specify whether any Israeli aircraft were hit.
Residents in Hodeidah described a series of powerful explosions that damaged port infrastructure and crippled the city’s electricity grid. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes.
The attacks came just hours after another vessel was struck off Hodeidah’s coast. Its crew was forced to abandon ship as it began taking on water. While no group claimed responsibility for that incident, the maritime security firm Ambrey said the circumstances matched the Houthis’ pattern of targeting commercial ships.
The Houthis have emerged as one of Iran’s most formidable regional allies, evolving under leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi from a loose group of mountain fighters into a force with tens of thousands of troops, ballistic missiles and armed drones. Western governments and Saudi Arabia accuse Tehran of arming the group, a charge Iran denies.
Israel has repeatedly struck Iranian-backed groups in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, but the Houthis remain a significant military power despite more than nine years of war with a Saudi-led coalition.
Reuters
