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The Israeli military reports its air force conducted what it describes as its “most powerful strike” in Yemen, a response to repeated drone and missile attacks on Israel by the Houthi movement.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that its aircraft targeted Houthi security, intelligence, and military infrastructure in the capital, Sanaa.
The Houthi-controlled government’s health ministry condemned the operation as a “brutal crime” by Israel, alleging that civilian facilities and residential areas were struck, resulting in eight fatalities.
This action follows a Houthi drone attack in the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat, which injured 22 individuals, two critically.
The Houthis have maintained control over a significant portion of north-western Yemen since ousting the internationally recognized government a decade ago, initiating a civil war.
Since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have targeted Israel and international shipping in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, citing their support for Palestinians as the motive.
Israel has conducted numerous retaliatory air strikes in Yemen in response to the hundreds of missiles and drones launched at the country by the Houthis.
Videos circulating from Sanaa depict substantial plumes of black smoke emanating from at least three locations in the city following the Israeli strikes on Thursday afternoon.
The strikes occurred just before Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV was scheduled to broadcast a speech by the movement’s leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
Al-Masirah reported that residential areas in the Maain and Sabaeen districts, as well as the Dhahban power station, were targeted, and published photographs showing damaged and destroyed buildings.
Health ministry spokesman Dr. Anees al-Asbahi accused the IDF of “deliberate and systematic targeting of civilian, service, and residential facilities,” characterizing the actions as “a war crime in every sense of the word.”
He reported eight deaths and 142 injuries, including civilians, and added that first responders were actively searching for casualties under the rubble.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated on X that his country had “delivered a powerful strike on numerous terror targets of the Houthi terror organisation in Sanaa.”
The IDF stated the targets included the Houthi military’s General Staff Command Headquarters, security and intelligence compounds, the Houthis’ “military public relations headquarters”, and military camps used for weapons storage.
“The IDF will operate against the ongoing and repeated attacks of the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel, will conduct additional offensive operations against the Houthi regime in the near future,” it added.
A separate statement from the Israeli military noted that an inquiry into Wednesday’s Houthi attack on Eilat indicated that the drone launched from Yemen was “detected relatively late, and that warning sirens were activated in accordance with protocol.”
“Interception attempts were made using the Iron Dome [air defence system], but were unsuccessful. The cause for that has been identified, and corrective measures were implemented.”
The IDF reports that Israeli forces have intercepted over 98% of the drones launched towards Israel by the Houthis since the start of the war in Gaza.
The Houthis’ military spokesman said the attack was a “response to the crimes of genocide and the dangerous escalation carried out by the Israeli enemy against our people in the Gaza Strip.”
On September 10, following a Houthi drone attack on Eilat’s Ramon airport that wounded one person, the Israeli military conducted strikes in Sanaa and al-Jawf province, resulting in 35 deaths, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported last week that 31 journalists and media support workers were among those killed in Sanaa, calling the incident the deadliest single attack on the press worldwide in 16 years.
Yemen’s September 26 newspaper reported that all but one of the deceased worked in its office or at the headquarters of the government’s Moral Guidance Directorate, both of which were bombed.
The IDF stated at the time that it had targeted the “Houthi Public Relations Department”.
Two have been taken to hospital with serious shrapnel injuries, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says.
The Israeli military says it hit military targets, but the Houthis say only civilian sites were targeted.
The food and children’s agency workers are the latest UN staff detained by Houthi authorities.
Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi and several other Houthi officials were killed in the attack, the Iran-backed movement says.
The strikes come after Israel said the Houthis used cluster munitions in a missile fired at Israel.
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