Israel attacks Yemeni rebels after deadly drone attack on Tel Aviv, 3 dead

Israeli warplanes killed three people in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni port city of Hodeida, the Iran-backed rebels said Sunday after the group’s deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv.

Analysts said the attacks on the key port, which sparked a blazing fire and sent plumes of black smoke into the air, were the first claimed by Israel in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, some 2,000 kilometres away.

“The blood of Israeli citizens has a price,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, adding that more operations against the Houthis would follow “if they dare to attack us.”

Gallant said the attacks on Hodeida are also a warning to other Iranian-backed armed groups in the Middle East that have claimed attacks on Israel during the war in Gaza.

“The fire currently raging in Hodeida is visible all over the Middle East and its significance is clear,” he said.

The Israeli strikes killed three people and wounded 87, the rebel-run Health Ministry said in a statement carried by Houthi media.

The ministry said earlier that most of the injured suffered severe burns.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that “anyone who harms us will pay a very high price” after Friday’s drone strike in Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian.

Just hours later, Gallant vowed that Israel would take revenge on the Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, including much of the Red Sea coast.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari accused the Houthis of using Hodeida “as a major supply route for the transfer of Iranian weapons,” such as the drone that struck Tel Aviv.

– ‘Brutal aggression’ –

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In a statement on social media, top Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam called for “brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen.”

The attack targeted “fuel storage facilities and a power plant” in Hodeida “to pressure Yemen to stop supporting” the Palestinians in the war in Gaza, he said.

An AFP correspondent in Hodeida reported hearing several large explosions and seeing smoke above the port.

Footage broadcast by rebel television Al-Masirah, which AFP could not independently verify, showed victims being treated in hospital, many of them bandaged and lying on stretchers in crowded rooms.

A man interviewed by the broadcaster said many of the injured were port workers.

“The city is dark, people are on the streets, gas stations are closed and there are long lines,” said a Hodeida resident who asked not to be named due to security concerns.

The Oil Ministry attempted to assure Yemenis that there are “large and sufficient amounts of oil reserves” in a statement published by the Houthis-run Saba news agency.

Maritime security company Ambrey reported seeing four merchant ships in the harbour and another eight in the anchorage at the time of the airstrike.

“No damage to merchant vessels has been reported at this time,” the report said.

– Fear of aid to Yemen is lifeline –

The United States, which along with Britain has carried out several air strikes on the Houthis in an attempt to end their attacks on ships in the Red Sea, said it played no role in Saturday’s attacks.

“The United States was not involved in today’s strikes in Yemen, and we did not coordinate or assist Israel in the strikes,” a spokesman for the US National Security Council said.

Separately, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday that it had “successfully” destroyed a Houthi drone over the Red Sea in the past 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia distanced itself from the Yemeni attacks. A Defense Ministry spokesman said Riyadh “has no connection to or involvement in the Hodeida attacks.”

“The kingdom will not allow its airspace to be infiltrated by any party,” said Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki.

The port of Hodeida, a key entry point for imports and international aid to rebel-held areas of Yemen, had remained largely untouched during the decade-long war between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government backed by neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The war has left millions of Yemenis dependent on aid delivered through the port.

“Traders now fear that this will worsen the already critical food security and humanitarian situation in northern Yemen, as the bulk of trade passes through this port,” said Mohammed Albasha, senior Middle East analyst for the US-based Navanti Group.

UN chief Antonio Guterres had called for “maximum restraint” after the drone attack in Tel Aviv to prevent “further escalation in the region”.

But Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi politburo, immediately threatened revenge for the attacks in Hodeida.

“The Zionist entity will pay the price for attacking civilian facilities, and we will respond to escalation with escalation,” he said in a social media post.

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Hezbollah, the Houthis’ Lebanese ally, warned that the Israeli attacks on Hodeida marked a dangerous turn of events nine months after the start of the war in Gaza.

“The foolish step taken by the Zionist enemy heralds a new, dangerous phase,” said the group, which has exchanged fire with the Israeli army almost daily during the war.

In a statement on social media, top Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam called for “brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen.”

The attack targeted “fuel storage facilities and a power plant” in Hodeida “to pressure Yemen to stop supporting” the Palestinians in the war in Gaza, he said.

An AFP correspondent in Hodeida reported hearing several large explosions and seeing smoke above the port.

Footage broadcast by rebel television Al-Masirah, which AFP could not independently verify, showed victims being treated in hospital, many of them bandaged and lying on stretchers in crowded rooms.

A man interviewed by the broadcaster said many of the injured were port workers.

“The city is dark, people are on the streets, gas stations are closed and there are long lines,” said a Hodeida resident who asked not to be named due to security concerns.

The Oil Ministry attempted to assure Yemenis that there are “large and sufficient amounts of oil reserves” in a statement published by the Houthis-run Saba news agency.

Maritime security company Ambrey reported seeing four merchant ships in the harbour and another eight in the anchorage at the time of the airstrike.

“No damage to merchant vessels has been reported at this time,” the report said.

– Fear of aid to Yemen is lifeline –

The United States, which along with Britain has carried out several air strikes on the Houthis in an attempt to end their attacks on ships in the Red Sea, said it played no role in Saturday’s attacks.

“The United States was not involved in today’s strikes in Yemen, and we did not coordinate or assist Israel in the strikes,” a spokesman for the US National Security Council said.

Separately, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday that it had “successfully” destroyed a Houthi drone over the Red Sea in the past 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia distanced itself from the Yemeni attacks. A Defense Ministry spokesman said Riyadh “has no connection to or involvement in the Hodeida attacks.”

“The kingdom will not allow its airspace to be infiltrated by any party,” said Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki.

The port of Hodeida, a key entry point for imports and international aid to rebel-held areas of Yemen, had remained largely untouched during the decade-long war between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government backed by neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The war has left millions of Yemenis dependent on aid delivered through the port.

“Traders now fear that this will worsen the already critical food security and humanitarian situation in northern Yemen, as the bulk of trade passes through this port,” said Mohammed Albasha, senior Middle East analyst for the US-based Navanti Group.

UN chief Antonio Guterres had called for “maximum restraint” after the drone attack in Tel Aviv to prevent “further escalation in the region”.

But Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi politburo, immediately threatened revenge for the attacks in Hodeida.

“The Zionist entity will pay the price for attacking civilian facilities, and we will respond to escalation with escalation,” he said in a social media post.

Hezbollah, the Houthis’ Lebanese ally, warned that the Israeli attacks on Hodeida marked a dangerous turn of events nine months after the start of the war in Gaza.

“The foolish step taken by the Zionist enemy heralds a new, dangerous phase,” said the group, which has exchanged fire with the Israeli army almost daily during the war.