Israel strikes Houthi terror targets in Yemen’s capital

An Israeli security source told the country’s Kan News public channel that one of the attacks targeted a gathering of “senior Houthi officials.”

By JNS

The Israel Defense Forces attacked Houthi terrorist targets in the Yemeni city of Sanaa on Thursday night, the military announced.

“The IDF is operating decisively against the Houthi terrorist regime, while simultaneously intensifying strikes against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, and will continue to act to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel,” the military confirmed in a statement.

“The Houthi terrorist organization has been operating under the Iranian direction and funding in order to harm the state and its allies since the beginning of the war, undermining regional stability and disrupting global freedom of navigation.” the IDF statement added.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement: “As we warned the Houthis in Yemen: after the plague of darkness comes the plague of the firstborn.” Katz added: “Whoever raises a hand against Israel—his hand will be cut off.”

According to Arabic reports, Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked more than 10 targets in the area of Sanaa, which serves as the Houthi capital.

An Israeli security source told the country’s Kan News public channel that one of the attacks targeted a gathering of “senior Houthi officials.”

Earlier on Thursday, the Air Force intercepted two drones dispatched by the Houthis that triggered air-raid sirens, including in the border communities of Bnei Netzarim and Naveh.

“Following the hostile aircraft infiltration sirens that sounded a short while ago in the communities near the Gaza Strip, a UAV launched from Yemen was successfully intercepted by the IAF,” the Israel Defense Forces said.

There were no initial reports of injuries or damage.

Bnei Netzarim and Naveh are located near the Egyptian border and a bit south of the Gaza frontier.

Some 90 minutes later, air-raid sirens sounded in unidentified “open areas” in the Jewish state following the interception of a second UAV.

“The target was intercepted before it crossed toward the territory of the State of Israel; alerts were activated in open areas in accordance with policy,” the IDF said.

On Wednesday morning, the IAF intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen.

The attack, which took place around 5:30 a.m., triggered air-raid sirens for some 1.5 million Israelis, including in large population centers such as Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, as well as in the Judean Foothills (the “Shfela”).

Israel’s Magen David Adom medical emergency response group said it had not received any reports about casualties or fallen shrapnel.

The Houthis have been launching ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel since the Hamas-led invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023.

Since the end of the latest ceasefire in Gaza on March 18, the Iran-backed group has fired more than 70 ballistic missiles and over 20 drones at the Jewish state.

The IDF attacked several key locations in Yemen on Sunday, including in the capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah, after the Houthis on Friday evening for fired a missile with a cluster warhead at Israel for the first time.

It was initially believed the interception failed because the missile’s warhead broke apart in mid-air. Fragments fell near a home but no one was hurt.

The warhead was composed of 22 smaller warheads; an identical missile was fired at Israel by Iran during the two countries’ 12-day war in June, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News.

The army said the targets of Sunday’s strike included a military compound housing the presidential palace, the Asar and Hizaz power plants and a fuel storage facility, all of which the Houthi regime used to support its terrorist attacks.