Israel strikes Yemen Huthis, warns it will 'hunt' leaders

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group has fired dozens of missiles and drones at Israel in what it says is a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's latest strikes came after the military intercepted two drones believed to have been launched from Yemen on Thursday.

"A short while ago... fighter jets struck military targets belonging to the Huthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen," the Israeli military said in a statement.

It said the strikes were carried out in retaliation for Huthi missile and drone launches into Israel.

The statement said the targets included "military infrastructure sites in the Hizaz power station, which serves as a central source of energy" for the Huthis.

It said it also struck military infrastructure in the ports of Hodeida and Ras Issa.

A military official said more than 20 aircraft took part in the attack, deploying 50 munitions.

The attack focussed on three main targets, the official told AFP.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement after the strikes, said the Huthis were being punished for their repeated attacks on his country.

"As we promised, the Huthis are paying, and they will continue to pay, a heavy price for their aggression against us," he said, vowing not to tolerate attacks against Israel.

"The Huthis are a proxy of Iran and they serve the terrorist objectives of the Iranian axis in the Middle East," he said, adding the group posed a "danger to Israel" and the region.
'No immunity for anyone'
Iran slammed Friday's strikes on Huthis by Israel.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran "strongly condemned... the brutal and unprecedented attack carried out today by the Zionist regime against Yemen".

Despite minimal damage due to Israel's air defences which have intercepted most Huthi missiles and drones, the Huthi strikes have significantly disrupted civilian life in Israel.

In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, air raid sirens frequently force tens of thousands of people into bomb shelters, often during the night.

Although most projectiles from Yemen are intercepted, one missile in December wounded 16 people in Tel Aviv, the military and emergency services said.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would "hunt down the leaders of the Huthi terror organisation".

"The Hodeida port is paralysed, and the Ras Issa port is on fire -– there will be no immunity for anyone," he said in a video statement.

Yemen's Al-Masirah television station said the power station was struck 13 times and nearby houses were damaged.

Yemenis taking part in a weekly protest in Sanaa in support of Palestinians heard the strikes, the channel reported.

Al-Masirah said the port of Hodeida, vital for Yemen's imports, was struck six times, while the Ras Issa port was struck by "a series of raids".

The raids on Ras Issa left one person dead and six others injured, the network reported.

Huthis said in a statement that over the past 48 hours, they targeted Jaffa, the name they use to refer to the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv.

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, at war with Israel in Gaza since its unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023, condemned "in the strongest terms" Israel's latest strikes on Yemen.

The Iran-backed Yemeni rebels have also targeted ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, prompting retaliatory strikes by the United States and, on occasion, Britain.

Before Friday's raids, Israel had struck Huthi targets in Yemen several times, including in the capital.

Since the Gaza war began, the Huthis have launched about 40 surface-to-surface missiles toward Israel, most of which were intercepted, the Israeli army says.

The military has also reported the launch of about 320 drones, with more than 100 intercepted by Israeli air defences.