A fierce blaze engulfed Yemen’s Hodeidah port on Saturday after Israeli fighter jets targeted military facilities in the region, according to a statement from the Israeli army.
The airstrikes came a day after a drone, launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi group, struck Tel Aviv, Israel’s economic hub.
The health ministry, as reported by Al-Masirah TV, the main television outlet of Yemen’s Houthi movement, confirmed that three individuals were killed and 87 others wounded in the strikes, which targeted oil facilities and a power station in Hodeidah.
A spokesperson for Israel’s military asserted that the port had been utilized by the Houthis to receive weapon shipments from Iran. The strikes, conducted over 1,700 kilometers (approximately 1,056 miles) from Israel, targeted dual-use sites including energy infrastructure.
The Houthis’ Supreme Political Council vowed an “effective response” to the Israeli airstrikes. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree declared that the group “will not hesitate to strike vital targets of the Israeli enemy.”
The Israeli strike on Yemen, following over 200 alleged Houthi attacks on Israel, has heightened concerns that the Gaza conflict, which erupted after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, could escalate into a broader regional war.
The October 7 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and led to more than 250 hostages being taken to Gaza, according to Israeli sources. Since then, health authorities in Gaza report nearly 39,000 Palestinian casualties from the ongoing Israeli assault on the enclave.
