The Israeli military has staged its first-ever direct large-scale air raid on the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, sparking a massive fire at the port’s oil terminal and other facilities on Saturday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the strikes are a response to attacks on Israeli-linked civilian vessels, as well as long-range missile and drone strikes on the country by the Yemen-based Houthi militant group.
“A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the area of the Hodeidah port in Yemen in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the State of Israel in recent months,” the military said.
Online footage appears to show that the strikes targeted the oil terminal at the port, resulting in multiple storage tanks catching fire.
The flames subsequently spread causing burning fuel to leak from the damaged tanks and create a massive wall of fire. According to local media reports, the attack likely caused casualties on the ground.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that the port was being utilised by the Houthis to receive arms shipments from Iran.
He also referenced a recent drone attack on Tel Aviv, which resulted in one fatality and at least ten injuries near the US Embassy’s branch office.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, boasting that their new drone technology enabled them to evade enemy defenses and carry out a ‘significant military operation’.
The Houthis, a Shia Islamist group that controls a large and the most populous part of Yemen, have been attacking Israeli-linked merchant vessels since October, describing their campaign as an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The attacks prompted a response by a US and the UK-led coalition, which has been conducting airstrikes against the group.
The bombing effort appears to have yielded little result, with the Houthis continuing attacks on merchant vessels and repeatedly targeting coalition warships.
Israel’s strikes on Hodeidah will not be left unanswered, the group has already warned RT reports.