Israel carried out a surprise military operation in Yemen on Saturday afternoon (local time), attacking strategic targets linked to Houthi rebels. The attack, which follows a drone operation in Tel Aviv that left one dead and several wounded on Friday, threatens to spread the war in the Gaza Strip to other regional fronts, as Israel warns that it is prepared “for any scenario.”
The Israeli military confirmed it carried out the strikes against Houthi military targets in the Hodeidah port area. Houthi-run Al Masirah television station reported that they targeted the Ras Kathnib power plant and fuel tanks. At least 80 people have been reported injured, some of them with serious burns, according to Saba news agency, citing the Houthi insurgents’ Health Ministry.
“There is a price for Israeli blood,” whether in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen or elsewhere, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said after a meeting in Tel Aviv with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior military officials.
“The fire that is currently taking place in Yemen is seen throughout the Middle East,” Gallant is heard saying in a video posted on X.
The Houthi rebels issued a statement saying that civilian targets, not just military ones, had been hit and that they would continue to attack Israel, including civilians. Israel, which said it had previously informed the United States about this offensive, announced that it would “continue to defend itself” if necessary.
The drone attack on Tel Aviv was claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. An Israeli man in his 50s was killed in the attack, which injured at least eight other people. The Houthis also claimed responsibility for the launch of a ballistic missile and three other drones, which were intercepted by anti-aircraft batteries before reaching Israeli airspace, but a fourth drone exploded over the city.
The escalation of the conflict comes as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has just ruled that Israel’s settlement policies “violate international law” and its “continued presence” in Palestine is “illegal.” It also demanded the “evacuation of all settlers,” the “dismantling” of the separation wall and the return of land to its original residents displaced since 1967. The UN’s highest judicial body stated that Israel’s “continued presence” in the Palestinian territories (including the Gaza Strip) is “illegal” and must come to an end “as quickly as possible.”
However, the occupation and military offensive in Gaza continue. In the last few hours alone, at least 37 people have died, adding to the more than 38,000 that have been counted since October 7, 2023. The death toll includes more than one and a half million displaced people, 17,000 orphaned children and tens of thousands of wounded, many of them mutilated.
