The Houthis have denied any Israeli attacks on Yemeni ports after Israel warned people to leave three ports in western Yemen controlled by the rebels.
In a statement on X on Sunday, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee identified the three ports as Ras Issa, Hodeida and Salif.
Media reports shortly afterwards said Israel had launched attacks on the western province of Hodeidah, but the head of the Houthi-run state news agency Saba, Nasruddin Amer, later denied that any had taken place, according to Reuters news agency.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher late on Sunday, after Adraee’s statement, Hamas official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said “there have been no raids on these three ports so far, although we do not rule out that such attacks could happen”. He also warned Israel that the Houthis would meet any “escalation with escalation”.
There was no immediate comment on the attack from Israel.
It comes days after Israel bombed the Hodeidah port after a Houthi attack near Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv earlier this month.
Israeli strikes have also targeted parts of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and the main international airport there.
The Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel and on Israeli targets in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians under fire since the war on Gaza began 19 months ago. Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed more than 52,000 people, including 57 who starved to death due to the total Israeli siege since March 2, according to Palestinian officials.
A ceasefire deal between Yemen’s Houthis and the United States does not include any operations against Israel, the group’s chief negotiator announced earlier this week.
The Houthis stopped firing on Israel during the Gaza ceasefire earlier this year, but resumed when Israel imposed its punishing blockade and then resumed the war soon after.
The US military had been launching daily air strikes across Yemen for nearly two months, destroying infrastructure and killing dozens of people, including children and civilians.
