Israel attacks Yemeni port after Houthi rebels attack Tel Aviv | Yemen

A day after Israeli officials vowed revenge for the drone attack on Tel Aviv, heavy air strikes rocked the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

Airstrikes hit a refinery and electricity infrastructure, sparking a huge fire. It was the first direct attack on Yemen since Houthi rebels there began attacking Israel with rockets and drones last year.

All of these attacks were intercepted until the attack on Tel Aviv on Friday left one person dead and at least ten injured.

The Almasirah television station, run by the Yemeni Houthi movement, reported on Saturday evening that there had been air strikes on the city.

Images circulated on social media, which could not be immediately verified, showing large clouds of smoke and fire next to the port. Almasirah said the attacks on the oil facilities had resulted in casualties.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its fighter jets attacked military targets in the port of Hodeidah in Yemen “in response to the hundreds of attacks on the State of Israel in recent months.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said later that evening that the port was the target of the attack because it was used “for military purposes.”

The attack, he added, “makes it clear to our enemies that there is no place that the long arm of the State of Israel will not reach.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “The fire currently burning in Hodeidah can be seen throughout the Middle East and its significance is clear… The first time they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do so wherever it may be necessary.”

The Houthis announced that they would “torment” Israel with further attacks in response to the attacks.

Almasirah TV had initially claimed that the attacks in Hodeidah were carried out by US and British forces, but later deleted that reference, according to Reuters. British and US forces have carried out repeated attacks on Hodeidah as recently as last month.

The Saudi Arabian newspaper Al Arabiya reported, citing anonymous sources, that the attacks on a fuel depot and oil refineries in the port were carried out in a joint operation by Israel, the US and Britain. Twelve Israeli aircraft were involved in the attacks, including F-35 fighter jets.

According to a New York Times report, four US officials said Israel acted alone in Saturday’s attacks on the Houthis, without US military involvement.

The latest airstrikes in Hodeidah follow a promise by Gallant to “settle the score” after a Houthis drone struck central Tel Aviv, killing one man and wounding 10 others. The Houthis immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming they had used a new type of drone that was undetectable by radar and air defense systems.

Israeli officials instead blamed the incident on “human error” and said the military was investigating what went wrong. Top military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the drone was detected by air defenses but was not intercepted due to a “mistake.”

Local police described how the drone exploded over an apartment block, setting off an explosion that rocked the port city, killed one person and unsettled residents alarmed by the rare attack.

Gallant vowed to strengthen Israeli air defenses after the attack, as the number of Hezbollah rocket attacks in northern Israel increases. The Israel Defense Forces said a barrage of 40 rockets was fired at the occupied Golan Heights and Galilee the day after the drone attack, posing challenges to Israeli air defenses.

The Yemeni Houthis, an Iran-backed militia that controls large parts of the west of the country including the coast, have been attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and disrupting maritime operations in the Red Sea for months in response to Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Earlier this month, Israel used a fighter jet to shoot down a suspected Houthi drone that was heading toward the Red Sea port of Eilat. At the same time, the group’s attacks on ships have severely disrupted business operations at the important Israeli port.

In response, the US and Britain have repeatedly attacked the port city of Hodeidah, although the terrorist militia had promised to continue its attacks as long as the war in Gaza continues.

More than 38,000 people have been killed in Israeli air, naval and artillery attacks on the enclave since October.

Netanyahu is preparing to travel to the United States to address the US Congress on Wednesday, while facing growing pressure at home and abroad to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza and bring the hostages home.

This conflict was further exacerbated by a comprehensive and damning ruling by the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday, which found that Israel’s settlement policy and occupation of the West Bank violate international law.

The ICJ ordered Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories “as soon as possible” and to make full reparations. While the order is not binding, it will be difficult for Israel’s allies to ignore, not least because the court also ruled that states are obliged neither to recognize the occupation as legal nor to support or encourage it.

The British Foreign Office reiterated its commitment to a two-state solution on Friday and is examining the ruling “carefully”.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy also announced on Friday that Britain would resume funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRRA), marking a rare disagreement with Washington over Gaza war policy.

Labour promised in its election manifesto to recognise a Palestinian state as part of a peace process and to create “a secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state”, but did not give a date.

Netanyahu responded to the ICJ ruling, which other Israeli politicians attacked as anti-Semitic, by de facto claiming both the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem for himself.

“The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land, neither in our eternal capital Jerusalem nor in Judea and Samaria,” he said in a statement on Friday, using biblical terms common in Israel for the occupied West Bank.

On Wednesday, the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, passed a resolution against the establishment of a Palestinian state. Among those in favor was Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s biggest political rival.

The US criticized “the scope” of the ICJ ruling. “We have made it clear that Israel’s state support for settlement construction is incompatible with international law and hinders the cause of peace,” a US State Department spokesman said on Saturday.

“We are concerned, however, that the breadth of the Court’s opinion will complicate efforts to resolve the conflict,” it added.

The Foreign Ministry said the ICJ’s view that Israel must withdraw from the Palestinian territories as soon as possible was “inconsistent with the established framework” for resolving the conflict.

Washington said this framework takes into account Israel’s security needs, which were highlighted by the October 7 attacks.