SANAA, Yemen: Israel’s military on Thursday said it struck multiple locations in Yemen, including Sanaa International Airport and three ports along the western coast.
The attacks carried out on Thursday hit Yemen’s Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations as well as military infrastructure in the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Kanatib, the military said.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam has described Israeli strikes as “a Zionist crime against all the Yemeni people”, AFP reported.
The attacks on Sanaa airport and Hodeidah power station were also reported by Yemen’s Al Masirah TV.
Yemeni journalist Hussain al-Bukhaiti told Al Jazeera the attack on the airport in the capital Sanaa targeted one of its control towers, disrupting operations.
The strikes came a day after Yemen’s Houthis, who control northwestern Yemen, including Sanaa and its Red Sea coast, fired a ballistic missile and two drones towards Israel.
Yemen’s Al Masirah TV reported that three people were killed and 11 wounded in the Israeli strikes.
Two of those were reportedly killed at the airport in Sanaa, with the other at the Ras Issa port, Al Masirah TV reported.
WHO Chief was at Yemen Airport
Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was in Sanaa airport at the time of the attack.
He says: “As we were about to board our flight from Sanaa, about two hours ago, the airport came under aerial bombardment.
“One of our plane’s crew members was injured. At least two people were reported killed at the airport.
“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged.”
Israeli Strikes on Yemen
Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeidah, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz have both previously said “Yemen will pay a price” for the recent attacks on Israel.
On Saturday, a Houthi missile attack wounded 16 people in Tel Aviv. The incident prompted a warning from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he ordered the destruction of Houthi infrastructure.
Netanyahu on Thursday said the strikes on Yemen would continue “until the job is done”.
Houthi fighters have targeted Israel and ships linked to it in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since Israel launched its military operations in Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing more than 45,361 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
