As missile hits Israeli school, IDF pounds Yemen, believes it paralyzed all 3 Houthi ports

As missile hits Israeli school, IDF pounds Yemen, believes it paralyzed all 3 Houthi ports

Emanuel Fabian

The Israeli military carried out a series of intense airstrikes that shook Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a port city early Thursday, in a preplanned operation that coincided with the Houthis firing a missile that hit a school in central Israel.

No one was injured by the ballistic missile, which the Israel Defense Forces said was partially intercepted outside Israeli airspace by the long-range Arrow air defense system. However, the warhead didn’t explode in the air and crashed into an empty school building in the city of Ramat Gan, with nobody hurt. It was the second missile from Yemen fired this week, along with a drone attack.

According to a statement by the Israel Defense Force, dozens of Israeli Air Force (IAF) aircraft participated in the strikes in Yemen, including fighter jets, refuelers and spy planes, some 2,000 kilometers from Israel. The Houthi targets were struck at the Hodeida port — which Israel has struck twice before — and for the first time, in the rebel-held capital Sana’a, the IDF said.

The IAF had been preparing for the strike for several weeks, military sources said, and the planes were already on their way to Yemen when the Houthis launched a missile at Israel.

The projectile set off sirens in central Israel communities due to concerns about falling debris from the interception, and millions of people were forced into bomb shelters due to the attack, the IDF said.

Houthi ports said paralyzed

Israeli military sources said the strikes in Yemen were aimed at paralyzing all three ports used by the Iran-backed Houthis on the coast of the country

All of the tugboats used to bring ships into ports were struck in the Israeli attack, as were power stations.

In Israel’s previous attack on the Hodeida port, the cranes used to unload shipments were struck.

Israel now believes that all activity at the ports controlled by the Houthis is paralyzed, sources said.