Air strikes have been reported in two cities in Yemen.
Witnesses and governing Houthi rebels said the country’s main international airport and a military base were targeted in the capital Sanaa, while a power station in the western port city of Hudaydah was also hit, the AFP news agency reported.
Israel said it carried out the strikes and that its air force had targeted Houthi “military infrastructure”.
Casualties were not clear from initial reports. In recent days Israel has warned it was preparing a major attack on the Houthis after the group fired drones and missiles at Israeli cities.
“[Israeli] fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
“The targets that were struck by the IDF include military infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities in both the Sanaa International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations.”
Houthi rebels have been attacking Israel since the first months of the Gaza war, which began in October 2023.
A Houthi missile strike injured more than a dozen people in Israel last week.
Israel has carried out intermittent strikes against Houthis in retaliation.
Earlier this week, Israel’s defence minister said the country was preparing to “strike hard” at the Houthis, warning it would “decapitate” the group’s leadership.
The Houthis are an armed political and religious group backed by Iran. The group has ruled large parts of western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since ousting the internationally recognised government in 2015.
