The Israeli military carried out an airstrike on Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa on Tuesday, its second attack in two days on Iran-aligned Houthi rebels after a surge in tensions between the group and Israel.
Israel warned people to leave the area around Sanaa International Airport before Tuesday’s attack, which it said targeted Houthi infrastructure and “fully disabled the airport.” Witnesses later reported four strikes in the capital.
Tensions have been high since the Gaza war began, but have risen further since a Houthi missile landed near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah port on Monday.
“A short while ago, IDFÂ [Israel Defence Forces]Â fighter jets struck and dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure at the main airport in Sanaa, fully disabling the airport,” the Israeli military said Tuesday.
“The strike was carried out in response to the attack launched by the Houthi terrorist regime against Ben Gurion Airport. Flight runways, aircraft and infrastructure at the airport were struck.”
There was no immediate word of any casualties in Tuesday’s strike, which was preceded by Israel issuing a warning to evacuate the area around the airport and publishing a map of the vicinity.
Three airport sources told Reuters that the strikes targeted three civilian airplanes, the departures hall, the airport runway and a military air base under Houthi control.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi political bureau, told the pro-Iran Al-Mayadeen broadcaster that the movement would hit back.
“Our military operation in support of Gaza will continue and will not stop,” he said. “Wait for the Yemeni response.”
Netanyahu vowed to retaliateÂ
The Israelis strikes around Hodeidah on Monday killed four people and wounded 39, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said.
The Hodeidah port is the second-largest in the Red Sea, after Aden, and is the entry point for about 80 per cent of Yemen’s food imports. More than 10 strikes targeted the port and the Al Salakhanah and Al Hawak neighbourhoods in the city, five residents told Reuters. Four strikes also targeted a cement factory east of Hodeidah.
“The attack was carried out in response to repeated attacks carried out by the Houthi terrorist regime against the state of Israel in which surface-to-surface missiles and unmanned aircraft were launched at the territory of the state and its citizens,” the Israeli military said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed to retaliate for Sunday’s missile attack, which was the first known to have escaped interception by Israel’s air defences in a series of attacks since March.
Houthi official Abdul Qader al-Mortada said in an X post commenting on the attack that Israel should wait for the “unimaginable.”
U.S. forces not actively involved, official says
The Houthis, who control Yemen, have been firing at Israel and shipping in the Red Sea since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians.
The Yemeni group resumed its attacks following a brief suspension after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza ended.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that American forces were not actively involved in Monday’s strikes, but there is general co-ordination between the two allies.
Meanwhile, an oil company operated by the Houthis announced it has begun operating an emergency system for supplying cars with fuel, owing to difficulties in unloading cargo at the oil port of Ras Isa.
In a statement, the company attributed the decision to U.S. strikes on the country, including at the port.
U.S. President Donald Trump in March ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis. The strikes have killed hundreds of people in Yemen while Israel has largely limited its strikes on Yemen since December of last year.
On Monday, Israel approved a plan that may include seizing the Gaza Strip for an unspecified amount of time and controlling aid to the Palestinian enclave.
The war in Gaza started after Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 saw 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s offensive on Gaza has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials have said, and destroyed much of the enclave.
