The Israeli army says it has struck several Houthi targets in western Yemen following a fatal drone attack by the rebel group in Tel Aviv the previous day.
The Israeli strikes appeared to be the first on Yemeni soil since the Israel-Gaza war began in October, and they threatened to open a new front in the region as Israel battles proxies of Iran.
A number of "military targets" were hit in the western port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold, the Israeli army said, adding that its attack was in response to "hundreds of attacks" against Israel in recent months.
"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," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement.
Israel's military said it alone carried out the strikes and "our friends were updated".
An Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) official did not say how many sites were targeted, but told journalists that the port was the main entry point for Iranian weapons.
The official did not say whether it was Israel's first attack on Yemen.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam posted on X that the "blatant Israeli aggression" targeted fuel storage facilities and the province's power station.
He said the attacks aimed "to increase the suffering of the people and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza".
Abdulsalam said the attacks would only make Yemen's people and armed forces more determined to support Gaza.
"There will be impactful strikes," Mohamed Ali al-Houthi of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen wrote on X.
A media outlet controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen, Al-Masirah TV, said the strikes on storage facilities for oil and diesel at the port and on the local electricity company caused deaths and injuries, and several people had severe burns.
It said there was a large fire at the port and power cuts were widespread.
Health officials in Yemen said the strikes killed a number of people and wounded others, but did not elaborate.
The drone attack by Houthi rebels killed one person in the centre of Tel Aviv and wounded at least 10 others near the US embassy early on Friday.
Virtually all projectiles fired from the southern Arabian country toward Israel have been intercepted.
Israel said air defences detected the drone on Friday but an "error" occurred.
Experts have expressed doubt about the Houthis' ability to overwhelm Israel's air defence system from about 1,600 kilometres away.
Original Story link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-21/israel-says-it-struck-houthi-targets-in-yemen/104123240
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