Israeli jets strike Houthi targets in Yemen after Tel Aviv attack
Adds Defence Minister quote in paragraphs 6-7, Foreign Minister in paragraph 11
By Ari Rabinovitch and Enas Alashray
JERUSALEM/CAIRO, July 20 (Reuters) -Israeli fighter jets struck Houthi military targets in the area of Hodeidah port in Yemen on Saturday, the Israeli military said, a day after a drone launched by the Iranian-backed group hit Israel's economic hub Tel Aviv.
Al-Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Yemen's Houthi movement, reported that the strikes were directed against oil facilities in the port and caused fatalities.
Hodeidah residents told Reuters by phone that explosions were heard throughout the city during an intensive bombardment and Al-Masirah TV said civil defence forces and firefighters were trying to extinguish fires in the port's oil tanks.
An Israeli military official said the operation hit dual use targets including energy infrastructure. Israel had informed allies ahead of the strike, which the military said was carried out by Israeli F-15 fighters which all returned safely.
The Houthis' Supreme Political Council said there would be an "effective response" to the Israeli airstrikes.
The strike on Yemen, which the official said came after more than 220 Houthi attacks on Israel, underlined fears that the Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, could spiral into a regional conflict.
"The fire that is currently burning in Hodeidah is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear," Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement.
"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."
On Friday, a long-range Iranian-made drone launched from Yemen hit the centre of Tel Aviv in an attack claimed by the Houthis killed one man and wounded four others.
That attack followed an escalation in the daily exchange of fire between Israeli forces and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon and comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to travel to Washington where he is due to address the U.S. Congress.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for broader international action to step up sanctions against Iran, which he said was supporting Houthi efforts to disrupt the freedom of the seas and trade routes.
"Iran is the head of the snake - it must be stopped now," he said on the social media platform X.
As the war in Gaza has gone on, the Houthis have stepped up attacks against Israel and Western targets, saying they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.
They began attacking Western ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden after Israel invaded the Gaza Strip following last year's attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel.
"A brutal Israeli aggression targeted civilian buildings, oil facilities and power station in Hodeidah aiming at pressuring Yemen to stop supporting Gaza," Mohammed Abdulsalam, chief negotiator for Houthi movement, said on X.
He said the attack would "only increase our determination, steadfastness, continuity".
Hamas stormed Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, nearly 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip, according to health authorities in the enclave.
Reporting by Enas Alashray, Mohammed Ghobari, Hatem Maher and Ari Rabinovitch, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Giles Elgood
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.
