Israel announces an air strike in Yemen will prevent weapons from Houthi militia
Israeli jets attacked Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah sparking massive fires and causing significant damage. Israel claims that Hodeidah is the port the place where Houthi fighters got a lot weaponry from Iran.
Jul 21, 2024 08:15 AM
An Israeli airstrike set off a massive flame at a storage facility in Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah on Saturday. Israel claimed the strike came in the wake of a drone attack by the Houthi militia, which caused the death of one Israeli male at Tel Aviv on Friday. AFP through Getty Images/AFP conceal caption
AFP via Getty Images/AFP
Israel announced on Sunday that it launched an air strike retaliatory to an important port in Yemen in a bid to halt the flow arms to Houthi militia from Iran.
The Israeli attack on a bomb on Saturday night sparked huge flames in gas and oil storage tanks at Yemen’s port Hodeidah located on the nation’s Red Sea coast. Israel also targeted an electrical plant as well as cranes used to transport cargo and load it at the port according to officials from Israel as well as Yemen.
Israeli Premier Secretary Benjamin Netanyahu said the Hodeidah port was the “entry point” for weapons provided from Iran through its Houthi proxy terrorists. Houthi proxies have used the port to supply weapons. Houthis have used the weapons to strike Israel as well as to strike Arab states within the region, and also to attack other countries as well.”
The Israeli strike occurred one day after the Houthis attacked Israel early on Friday with a massive drone and killed one person in a building that is located close to The Tel Aviv beachfront.
Netanyahu explained Netanyahu described the Israeli operations in Yemen as an “direct response” to the drone strike at Tel Aviv.
It is also crucial to the Hodeidah Port is vital for the supply of food and other civil items that are shipped to the poor nation. The extent of the destruction was not immediately evident but the huge flames and the billowing black smoke that hung over the beach suggest the extent of the damage was significant.
The Yemeni Health Ministry said three people were killed, with more than 80 were injured, with many suffering from serious burns.
A Houthi spokesperson through social networks explained the Israeli raid as an attack on civilian infrastructure. The spokesperson said that this will be a way to “increase the determination of the Yemeni people” to stand with those Palestinians on what called “the most just cause on the face of the earth.”
Israel is, however, reporting that the Houthis launched a missile towards the southern part of Israel on Sunday morning however, air defenses blasted the missile down before it entered Israeli airspace.
A long-distance mission
To get to Hodeidah port Hodeidah Port, Israeli airplanes covered more than 1000 miles. Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari called it “one of the longest ever conducted by the Israeli air force.”
The Israeli media said it was reported that Israel’s air forces utilized US-made F-15 along with F-35 fighter jets during the mission.
U.S. Department of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant following the Israeli raid as well as the Pentagon issued a statement saying that it “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and Israel’s right to self-defense.”
In Washington in Washington, an official from the National Security Council official, speaking under the condition of anonymity stated that it was the U.S. was in ongoing contact with Israel but did not assist or coordinate with the mission in Yemen.
Israel states that it has been informed that the Houthis have launched more than 200 drones and missiles at Israel in the last few months. Israeli air defenses as well as U.S. naval forces in the Red Sea have shot them down, almost in all instances before they entered Israeli airspace.
The Houthis are also launching attacks at commercial vessels within the Red Sea, which the group claims is showing solidarity to the Palestinians. It is believed that the U.S. Navy and allied countries are fighting the attack on the critical shipping lane that is used by huge container ships that travel across the Suez Canal to and from countries across Asia as well as to and from the Middle East, Europe and Africa.