Yemen’s Houthis said the United States and Israel struck the port of Hodeida on Monday, hours after a reported US air raid on Sanaa and a day after the Iran-backed militia targeted Israel’s main airport.
The Houthi-run al-Masirah television said that “US-Israeli aggression targets with six strikes the port of Hodeida” on Yemen’s western coast, also reporting “US-Israeli aggression on the Bajil district” in the same province.
The Israel military confirmed it carried out strikes on Houthi targets in Hodeida on Monday. Israeli “fighter jets struck terror targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime, along Yemen’s coastline and further inland,” the military said in a statement, adding that Hodeida port “is used for the transfer of Iranian weapons, military equipment, and other equipment intended for terrorist purposes.”
The US did not take part in Monday’s Israeli strikes against the Houthis, a US defense official told Al Arabiya English.
Earlier, the Houthis’ Saba news agency said US strikes hit the capital Sanaa and the airport road, wounding 16 people according to the Houthis’ health ministry.
Al-Masirah reported another three strikes in Sanaa and seven in the northern governorate of al-Jawf.
The reports on Houthi media come after Israel said a missile fired from Yemen on Sunday struck inside the perimeter of Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv for the first time.
The Houthis claimed responsibility, saying they fired a “hypersonic ballistic missile” at Ben Gurion, Israel’s main international gateway.
The militia said it “will work to impose a comprehensive air blockade on the Israeli enemy by repeatedly targeting airports, most notably... Ben Gurion Airport.”
The missile gouged a wide crater in the ground near an airport parking lot, injuring six people and forcing airlines to suspend flights.
The Houthis, who control swathes of Yemen including Sanaa, have launched missiles and drones targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a tough response against the Houthis, as well as its main backer Iran, over the attack.
Iran on Monday denied supporting the attack, calling it an “independent decision” by the Yemeni militia taken in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Reacting to Netanyahu’s threats, the Islamic Republic warned it would retaliate against any attack on its territory.
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