Intense Israeli airstrikes rocked Yemen’s rebel-held capital and port city early Thursday, killing at least nine people, according to officials, following a Houthi missile attack on central Israel.
The strikes risk escalating tensions with the Iranian-backed Houthis, whose attacks on the Red Sea corridor have significantly disrupted global shipping. Unlike Hamas and Hezbollah—also part of Tehran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance”—the Houthis have so far avoided the heavy military response seen in Gaza and Lebanon.
The Israeli military confirmed two waves of preplanned airstrikes involving 14 fighter jets. The first targeted Houthi infrastructure at the Red Sea ports of Hodeida, Salif, and the Ras Isa oil terminal. The second struck energy facilities in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa.
Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV reported that the strikes hit power stations in Sanaa, sharing footage of flames engulfing a building as firefighters battled the blaze. In Salif, seven people were killed, with two more deaths reported at the Ras Isa oil terminal. Additional casualties were reported at Hodeida port, the channel said.
The Israeli military has not provided a damage assessment.
