Sputnik
Israel carried out a series of airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday, Israeli and Ansar Allah (Houthi) affiliated Yemeni media have reported. Here's what we know.
A Yemeni government source told Sputnik the strikes targeted the international airport in Sanaa and the al-Daylami airbase, and that additional attacks had been carried out in Hodeidah province.
A separate informed source told Sputnik that Israeli jets had launched two separate attacks on Hodeidah’s port and its environs, coinciding with the bombing of Sanaa, the capital, which involved at least six separate strikes.
The first source said the aerial attack took place amid Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi’s weekly address.
The IDF confirmed later in the day Thursday that it had targeted the Sanaa airport.
"IAF fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the west coast and inland Yemen...The targets that were struck by the IDF include military infrastructure used by the Houthi[s]...for its military activities in both Sanaa International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations. In addition, the IDF struck military infrastructure in the Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports on the western coast," the Israeli military said in a statement.
Houthi-aligned media said the attacks targeted civilian infrastructure, and were coordinated and supported by the US and Britain. The attacks disrupted the operation of Sanaa’s international airport, destroying the control tower and several facilities, including civilian aircraft, reports indicate. Houthi media confirmed that power generation infrastructure was targeted.
Israeli officials said some 100 aircraft took part in the strikes, said to be Israel's largest attack on Yemen to date.
The strikes come days after a series of threats by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to step up attacks on Yemen.
In his Hanukkah address Wednesday, Netanyahu warned that “the Houthis will also learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and others have learned, and this will also take time. This lesson will be learned across the Middle East.”
On Tuesday, Katz threatened to assassinate Ansar Allah's leaders. “Just as we dealt with Sinwar in Gaza, Haniyeh in Tehran and Nasrallah in Beirut, we will also deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sanaa and everywhere in Yemen.”
An Israeli official told local media after Thursday's strikes that they would not be the last. The US was reportedly informed of the attack beforehand.
Israel’s bellicose statements come amid growing Houthi ballistic missile attacks on Israel – which have become increasingly effective in recent weeks in evading Israeli air defenses.
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