Cairo: Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital Sunday, just days after the Houthi rebels fired a missile toward Israel, the rebels said, the latest Israeli attack targeting the Iranian-backed group.
The Houthi media office said the strikes hit multiple areas across the capital of Sanaa, including a power planet and a gas station. Residents reported hearing loud sounds of explosions in different areas, including close to the presidential palace.
The reported strikes were the first to hit Yemen since a week ago, when Israel said it targeted energy infrastructure it believed was used by the rebels. Israel did not immediately confirmed Sunday’s attack.
The Iran-backed Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea for more than 22 months. They say they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians amid the war in the Gaza Strip.
Sanaa residents told The Associated Press they heard loud explosions close to a closed military academy and the presidential palace. They said they could see smoke plumes near Sabeen Square, a central gathering place in the capital.
“The sound of explosions were very strong,” said Hussein Mohamed, a Yemeni resident, who lives close to the presidential palace.
Ahmed al-Mekhlafy, another resident, also said he felt the sheer force of the strikes. “The house was rocked, and the windows were shattered,” he told the AP over the phone.
Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, claimed the Israeli strikes won’t deter the rebels, and vowed to continue their attacks on Israel.
“Our military operations supporting Gaza won’t stop, God willing, unless the aggression is stopped, and the siege is lifted,” he wrote on social media.
The strike comes after the Houthis claimed they launched newly equipped missiles toward Israel, including targeting the country’s largest airport, on Friday. There was no reported damage or injuries in Israel from that attack. Israel’s military said it fragmented mid-air after several attempts to intercept it.
An Israeli Air Force official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the kind of projectile fired from Yemen towards Israel on Friday night was a new threat. The missile was a cluster munition, he said, a projectile that is supposed to detonate into multiple explosives.
It was the first time the Houthis had launched a cluster bomb at Israel since the militant group began launching rockets towards Israel in 2023, the official said.
The use of cluster bombs makes it harder for Israel to intercept and also represents additional technology provided to the Houthis by Iran, the official said.
The Houthi attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about USD 1 trillion of goods passes each year.
From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones. The rebels stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war and later became the target of an intense, weekslong airstrike campaign ordered by US President Donald Trump.
In May, the United States announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to shipping attacks, although the rebel group said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.
In May, Israeli airstrikes hit the Sanaa in a rare daytime attack that destroyed the facility’s terminal and left craters in its runway. At least six passenger planes were hit in that strike, including three belonging to Yemenia Airways, according to the airport authorities.
AP
