On Sunday, Israel’s Air Force conducted airstrikes against targets linked to the Tehran-backed Houthi militia in the Yemeni port cities of Hodeidah and Ras Isa.
The long-range operation, the second direct IAF assault on Houthi-controlled territory since July, reportedly struck fuel storage facilities, power stations, and dockage structures that the terrorists use to import munitions from the Islamic Republic.
Israeli military spokespersons said the incursion was a response to the deployment of a ballistic missile by the militants on Saturday, which was reportedly aimed at Ben Gurion Airport to coincide with the return of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a trip to the United Nations in New York. Air defense units in the Jewish state successfully neutralized the projectile before it entered the country’s airspace.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles at Israel since the onset of the October war in Gaza, which their leadership describes as an act of solidarity with Hamas operatives in the coastal enclave.
Since November, the rebels have also disrupted the region’s ocean-going trade by attacking commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
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