Word – Israeli Jets Bomb Sites in Yemen Linked to Iran-Backed Houthi Militia

Israeli fighter jets bombed sites in Yemen affiliated with the Iran-backed Houthi militia on Saturday in retaliation for a deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv a day earlier, the Israeli military said. It was the first time Israel has publicly attacked the group in months of escalating tensions.

The Israeli airstrikes targeted gas and oil depots and a power station in the area of Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah, two regional officials said. The port is controlled by the Houthis and contains oil export facilities, but also serves as a vital conduit for civilian goods and humanitarian aid to impoverished Yemen.

An Israeli military statement said that fighter jets struck targets near the port “in response to the hundreds of attacks” by the Houthis in recent months. The military said it was not tightening its emergency civil defense regulations after the attack, indicating Israeli officials might not expect a more serious escalation.

Nasruddin Amer, a Houthi spokesman, wrote on social media after the Israeli bombardment that the group would continue to attack Israel in support of Gaza.

“Yemen’s operations in support of Gaza will not stop,” Mr. Amer vowed. “The response to this aggression is inevitable.”

On Friday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for firing a long-range drone that hit the coastal city of Tel Aviv, killing one Israeli and wounding several others. The attack was part of a monthslong Houthi campaign against Israel, during which the Houthis have lobbed hundreds of missiles and drones and menaced ships passing through the Red Sea to try to blockade the Israeli port of Eilat.

Israel is already fighting a war against Hamas on its southern front in Gaza and trading fire incessantly with Hezbollah in Lebanon to the north — two groups also backed by Iran. Israel’s response on Saturday to the Houthi attack appeared calibrated not to incite a full-blown war on another front.

In response to the Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, the United States and Britain, alongside their allies, have struck hundreds of Houthi targets in Yemen since November and have been sharing intelligence with Israel for months. But four U.S. officials said Israel acted alone on Saturday, with no American military involvement.

The deadly Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv — which struck close to an American diplomatic compound — was a rare breach of Israel’s vaunted air defenses. Most of the missiles and drones fired by the Houthis at Israel have been shot down by U.S. and Israeli forces.

Until Saturday, Israel had avoided a full-on attack against the Houthis in Yemen, which is more than 1,000 miles away. But the drone attack in Tel Aviv appeared to tip the scales.

“The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them — and we will do this in any place where it may be required,” Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister, said on Saturday.

“By targeting this critical port city, Israel is sending a signal that it is willing to escalate and target an area critical for the import of humanitarian and commercial goods into northern Yemen, which is also a Houthi stronghold,” said Dana Stroul, formerly the Pentagon’s top Middle East policy official who is now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “This is also a key area for the smuggling of weapons and missile components by Iran.”

The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to turn any retaliation against them into a grinding war. Brig. Gen. Abed al-Thawr, a senior Houthi military official, said in an interview on Friday night that the group still had “weapons that haven’t been unveiled yet.”

“All Israeli cities have now come under the reach of our targeting,” he added.

Shuaib Almosawa contributed reporting from Bangalore, India.