For the first time since the Israel–Hamas war erupted last October, the Israeli military has deployed fighter jets to strike Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
This action follows an incident where the rebels penetrated Tel Aviv airspace with a kamikaze drone (also for the first time) on Friday, resulting in the death of one civilian.
Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam posted on social media that a “brutal Israel aggression against Yemen” had just occurred. He noted that the airstrikes hit “fuel storage facilities and a power plant” in the Yemeni port of Hodeida “to pressure Yemen to stop supporting” Palestinians in the Gaza war.
Footage of the attack has surfaced on X by early Saturday afternoon.
12 Israeli warplanes, including advanced F35 jets, participated in aerial strikes on the port of #Hudaydah in Yemen. pic.twitter.com/aoOyKwtNvT
Axios reports US and Israeli officials confirmed the Israeli Air Force strikes in retaliation for the Houthi drone strike in Tel Aviv on Friday morning, killing one and wounding eight more. We noted that this Houthi drone strike risked “sparking escalation of warfare between Yemen’s Houthis, Hezbollah, and the State of Israel.”
“This attack makes it crystal clear to the Houthis and Iranians that strategic, energy-linked economic targets are fair game in retaliation for attacks on Israeli strategic locations like Tel Aviv,” Scott Modell, CEO of Rapidan Energy Group, tells us.
Modell points out, “The Houthis are really taking a big risk because any tankers who supply them will now be in the crosshairs for retaliatory attacks by Israel. The US & NATO allies will continue to do practically nothing.”
Mario Nawfal on X points out that Israel destroyed Yemen’s main port:
Israeli airstrikes on Hodeidah port reportedly killed dozens and crippled the Houthis’ ability to unload containers. Hodeidah port is a crucial lifeline for Yemen, handling 70% of the country’s imports, including vital humanitarian aid. This strategic blow aims to disrupt supplies and intensify pressure on Yemen.
Axios cited a senior Israeli official who said the strike on the port was ‘purely Israeli action.’
“This was a targeted operation at the port of Hodeida. We carried out the strike after many months of restraint in the face of Houthi attacks that included the firing of dozens of items, including surface-to-surface missiles,” the official said.
Furthermore, Houthis have been increasing their aerial and surface drone attacks on the critical maritime chokepoint in the southern Red Sea, which has disrupted global shipping, sending the capacity of containers lower while pushing freight costs higher. The Biden administration’s Operation Prosperity Guardian has failed to secure the maritime route so far.