Israel Strikes Yemeni Port Facilities in Response to Houthi Attacks

Jerusalem, 29 September, 2024 (TPS) -- The Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes on Yemen’s Red Sea ports of Ras Isa and Al Hudaydah on Sunday in response to recent Houthi missile and drone attacks, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed.

Aircraft struck military targets belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, including power plants and a seaport Iran used to transfer weapons. Also struck were military supplies and oil.

Following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Friday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Yemeni terror group vowed to take revenge.

“We will move towards escalation and developing our military performance,” al-Houthi said in televised remarks.

Since October, the Houthis have launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel.

The Houthis stopped their attacks after Israel struck Al Hudaydah in July. That was in retaliation for a drone attack on Tel Aviv which killed one Israeli and injured seven. Israel’s strike destroyed weapons storage facilities, a power generating station and oil refinery and storage site.

But Houthi attacks resumed after two months with a missile attack on Sept. 15.

The Houthis vowed in early December to target any Israel-bound ship in the Red Sea, regardless of its ownership. They have attacked or harassed numerous ships, hijacked the MV Galaxy Leader in November and are holding its crew of 25 hostage.

From bases along the Yemeni coast, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have threatened ships in the Red Sea as they traverse the Bab el-Mandeb Straits, a narrow maritime choke point between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. The majority of the world’s oil passes through the strait from the Indian Ocean towards the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.

Expectations of an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon rose on Wednesday following comments by Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi and an announcement that the military was remobilizing two reservist brigades for the northern front.

According to government figures released on Sunday, 68,000 residents of northern Israel were forced to evacuate their homes when Hezbollah began launching rockets and drones in October. The terror group has launched more than 9,300 rockets and drones, killing 49 people on the Israeli side. Hezbollah leaders have repeatedly said they will continue the attacks to prevent Israelis from returning to their homes.

Israeli officials have been calling for Hezbollah to be disarmed and removed from southern Lebanon in compliance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War.