The Israeli military says it has carried out air strikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah port and a cement factory, claiming the sites were used to support Houthi operations against Israel.
The strikes on Monday injured at least 21 people, the Houthi-run health ministry spokesman Anees al-Asbahi said.
According to the Israeli army, fighter jets struck infrastructure linked to the Houthis, including a cement factory east of Hodeidah that it described as “an important economic resource” used in building tunnels and military infrastructure.
“The Hodeidah seaport serves as a hub for the transfer of Iranian weapons and equipment for military needs,” the Israeli army said in a statement. The claim could not be independently verified.
Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that six Israeli strikes hit Hodeidah’s port and blamed both Israel and the United States. Axios quoted a senior US official who said the air raids were coordinated between Israel and the US.
A US defence source told Al Jazeera that “US forces did not participate in the Israeli strikes on Yemen today” but did not deny nonlethal support may have been provided.
The attack was carried out after a ballistic missile fired from Yemen on Sunday struck close to Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged retaliation for the Houthi attack, the first known missile to avoid interception since the Yemeni group began targeting Israel in November 2023.
‘New phase’ in Israeli attacks on Yemen
Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem reported that about 30 Israeli warplanes took part in Monday’s operation, which was overseen by Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz from a command centre in Tel Aviv.
Hashem said the strikes mark a “new phase” in Israeli attacks on Yemen.
Since President Donald Trump returned to power in January, the US has embarked on a more aggressive assault on Yemen “which is related directly to Israeli interests”, Hashem added.
This is not the first time Israel has bombed targets in Yemen. In December, air raids struck the Ras Isa oil terminal and other sites in Hodeidah province, killing at least nine people.
While most Houthi-launched projectiles have been intercepted, Sunday’s attack was the “most significant strike”, Hashem said, since the group launched its campaign in November 2023, which it said is in response to Israel’s war on Gaza and to show solidarity with Palestinians. A drone had previously hit a building in Tel Aviv last year.
Since November 2023, the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks targeting vessels they said are linked to Israel in the Red Sea.
Although the Houthis paused attacks during a frail ceasefire in Gaza this year, they resumed their operations after Israel cut off humanitarian aid to Gaza and resumed its offensive in March.
