The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi-held capital rose to 10, health authorities said Monday.
Multiple strikes rocked Sanaa on Sunday, days after the Iran-backed Houthis fired a missile toward Israel that the IDF described as the first cluster bomb the Yemeni terror group had launched at it since 2023.
The Israeli strikes hit a facility owned by Yemen’s main oil company, which is controlled by the Houthis, along with a power plant and a military site in an area where the presidential palace is located, according to the Houthis and the IDF. A fireball and plume of thick smoke rose above the city.
Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesman for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, said in a statement that 10 people were killed in the strikes on the oil facility and power plant.
He said the strikes wounded 102 others, including seven children and three women. Twenty-one were in critical condition, he said.
The strikes came after the terror group launched a missile last week toward Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. There was no reported damage or injuries. The IDF said the missile fragmented mid-air after several interception attempts.
Brigadier Yahya Saree Qasim, the spokesman for Yemen’s Houthis, speaks during a protest denouncing US airstrikes on Yemen, in Sanaa on April 18, 2025. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP)
Sunday’s strike marked the 15th time that Israel has attacked the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, located some 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) away.
According to the IDF, the Yemeni presidential palace it targeted in Sanaa is “located within a military site from which the military operations of the Houthi terrorist regime forces are conducted.” Some local media reported that the palace had been abandoned for years.
The two power plants that were targeted “served as a significant electricity supply facility for military activities,” the IDF said.
The IDF said that the Houthis’ use of the plants “constitutes further proof of how the Houthi regime uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes.”
Some 35 munitions were dropped on the four targets, according to the IDF.
The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre.
The Houthis held their fire when a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. By that point, they had launched over 40 ballistic missiles and dozens of attack drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 71 ballistic missiles and at least 23 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.
In response to the Houthi attacks, Israel and a United States-led coalition bombarded rebel-held areas in Yemen, including Sanaa and the strategic coastal city of Hodeida. Israeli strikes knocked the Sanaa airport out of service in May.
The Trump administration in May announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to attacks on shipping. The terror group, however, said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.
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