Israel bombs Houthis in Yemen after rebels attack commercial ship
Israel has carried out its first strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen since the Israel-Iran ceasefire, attacking ports and a power plant around midnight local time Sunday night into Monday morning.
The strikes come after at least three Houthi ballistic missiles were launched at Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including one missile that was intercepted Saturday.
The Iran-backed Houthis also claimed responsibility for an attack on the bulk carrier ‘Magic Seas’ in the Red Sea on Sunday, the first on commercial shipping in the region by the rebels this year.
Israel struck the ports of Hodeida, Ras Isa, Salif and the Ras Kanatib power plant along the Red Sea. The IDF also hit the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship seized by the Houthis in November 2023.
“Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a statement following the strikes.
A short time before the wave of attacks, the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, issued an evacuation warning for the ports and the power station.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were part of the newly named Operation “Black Flag.” In a statement on social media, Katz said, “The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions” and promised more attacks would follow if the Houthis kept launching drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.
The Houthi military confirmed the strikes but said, “Yemeni air defenses effectively confronted the Israeli aggression,” using, “a massive barrage of locally manufactured surface-to-air missiles,” in a short statement on early Monday morning.