DaysofPal- At least nine people were killed in a series of fierce Israeli airstrikes that struck Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and the port city of Hodeidah on Thursday, December 19, 2024, according to local media.
Israel’s forces said it had attacked “military targets” belonging to Houthi fighters “in the western coastal strip and deep inside Yemen” on Thursday morning, after intercepting a missile fired by the group towards Israel.
“The targets attacked are used by the Houthi forces for their military operations,” the military said in a statement.
Seven people were killed in an Israeli attack on the port of As-Salif, while the remaining individuals were killed in two strikes on the Ras Isa oil facility, both of which are located in the western province of Hodeidah, according to Al Masirah TV, the primary news outlet operated by the Houthi movement.
“The enemy launched four aggressive raids targeting the port… and two raids targeting” an oil facility, Al Masirah reported.
The series of “aggressive raids” also targeted two central power stations south and north of the capital, Sanaa, it added.
Four raids were carried out against Hodeidah, according to Yemen’s SABA news agency. Two of these raids struck the Ras Isa oil facility, killing and wounding some of its workers.
Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said that after a Houthi missile was fired towards Israel overnight and was destroyed, as well as numerous attacks over the previous 14 months, Israeli forces had attacked Houthi military locations, including ports and energy infrastructure in Sanaa.
The Houthis announced on Thursday that they used two ballistic missiles to attack two “sensitive military targets” in Israel’s Yaffa area, south of Tel Aviv.
“The operation successfully achieved its objectives,” according to a statement released by Yemen’s state news agency Saba. It said the attacks occurred “simultaneously” with Israeli air raids on civilian infrastructure in Sanaa and Hodeidah.
“The Israeli aggression will not deter Yemen and the Yemenis from performing their religious and moral duty in responding to its massacres in the Gaza Strip,” it said.
Yemeni Houthi fighters have launched months of attacks on Israel and shipping linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, in what it says is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 45,000 people, the majority being women and children.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a stern warning to the Houthi leaders, stating, “I warn the leaders of the Houthi terrorist organization: Israel’s long hand will reach you as well. Whoever raises a hand against the state of Israel, his hand will be cut off; whoever harms, will be harmed sevenfold.”.
President Isaac Herzog also praised the Israeli Air Force for inflicting a “heavy blow” on the Houthis, emphasizing the military’s role in protecting Israeli citizens and the region from Houthi threats.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi’s political bureau, said the US is part of the recent Israeli attacks on his country.
“The US-Israeli bombing of civilian facilities in Yemen [power stations and ports] reveals the truth about the West’s hypocrisy and refutes all its humanitarian claims,” he said, adding that the attacks will not stop the Houthis from supporting Gaza.
“We will meet escalation with escalation until the genocide crimes in Gaza stop and food, medicine, and fuel are allowed to enter its residents,” he added on X.
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