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IDF bombs presidential palace in Yemen after Houthis use cluster warhead in missile attack

Houthi missile attack that struck home in central Israel carried banned cluster warhead, Israel announces, prompting IDF to carry out major strikes on Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli warplanes bombed Houthi positions in Yemen on Sunday, including the Yemeni presidential palace, days after Yemen-based terrorists launched a missile at Israel that utilized a cluster warhead.

The strikes came in response to a missile attack conducted on Friday by the Ansar Allah terrorist group – an Iranian-backed Shi’ite movement in Yemen widely referred to as the Houthis.

On Sunday, Israel confirmed that the missile carried a cluster warhead capable of scattering smaller explosives over a wide area.

The cluster warhead is internationally banned but was used by Iran on Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June.

Friday’s missile attack damaged a private home in the central Israeli town of Ginaton, but caused no injuries.

“There were two explosions at home,” Ilana Hatoumi, 85, the owner of the home, told Channel 12. “The entire home shook.”

“The power went out,” Hatoumi added. “I thought it was very close, but I didn’t imagine it was in my home.”

“I came out to a shattered kitchen. All the windows, all the floor — the floor was filled with glass.”

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Later on Sunday, dozens of explosions were reported in Houthi-held areas in Yemen, including multiple positions in the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a.

The IDF later confirmed Israeli Air Force jets had carried out the strikes, hitting multiple power stations, a fuel storage site, and the presidential palace in Sana’a.

“The strikes were carried out in response to the repeated attacks by the Houthi terror regime against the State of Israel and its citizens, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles toward Israeli territory,” an army spokesperson said.

The spokesperson emphasized that all targets hit during Sunday’s airstrikes were used by the Houthis for military purposes, noting that the presidential palace is located within a larger military compound used by the group’s leadership for planning attacks.

The bombings are also said to have targeted storage facilities used to house ballistic missiles.