Israel bombed the west coast and interior areas of Yemen this Thursday, with targets such as the Sanaa airport, in response to the launches of ballistic missiles and drones into Israeli territory by the Houthi rebels, the armed forces announced.
Israeli aviation launched an “intelligence-based” attack against infrastructure used by the Houthis at the Sanaa airport, the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power plants and other positions in the ports of Hodeida, Salif and Ras Kanatib, on the west coast. according to a military statement.
“Following the approval of the action plans by the Chief of the General Staff, the Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister, the fighter planes of the Air Force carried out attacks based on intelligence against military objectives of the Houthi terrorist regime. “, the Army announced about an hour after the first reports of the attack occurred.
Israel claims that these targets were used by the Houthis to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region, as well as as a gateway for senior officials of the Iranian regime.
“This is another example of the exploitation by the Houthis of civilian infrastructure for military objectives,” added the Army, which pronounces itself in similar terms when its attacks in Gaza or Lebanon occur against places where they can produce civilian casualties.
The Army accused the Yemeni armed group of relying on Iranian financing and acting as an agent of the Islamic republic, attacking international ships in the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the Bab al Mandab Strait, to destabilize the region. “The armed forces will not hesitate to act at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens,” they threatened veiledly.
With the attack, Israel claims to respond to the Houthis, who “have repeatedly attacked the State of Israel and its citizens, including attacks with drones and ground-to-ground missiles.”
The attack has coincided with the visit to Yemen of Tedros Adhanom, leader of the World Health Organization (WHO), within the framework of a UN mission to negotiate the release of the detained United Nations personnel and to evaluate the health and humanitarian situation in the country. WHO staff were at Sana’a airport when it was bombed.
“About two hours ago, when we were about to board our flight from Sanaa, the airport was bombed. One of the crew members of our plane was injured. At least two people were reported dead at the airport. The air traffic control tower, the departure hall (a few meters from where we were) and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom tweeted. “We will have to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave,” he added.
About two hours ago, as we were about to board our flight from Sana’a, the airport was bombed. One of the crew members of our plane was injured. At least two people were reported dead at the airport. The air traffic control tower, the departure hall (a few meters from where we were) and the runway were damaged.
The latest Houthi attacks
This Wednesday afternoon, a Houthi drone fell in an open space in Israeli territory without causing any casualties, while at dawn air defense systems intercepted a missile heading towards the center of the country.
In the evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again warned the Yemeni group: “The Houthis will also learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the (Bashar) Assad regime and others have learned, and this will also take time. This lesson will be learned throughout the Middle East.”
In the early hours of December 21, a missile from Yemeni rebels hit a children’s park in the middle of a residential area of Tel Aviv.
As a result of these attacks, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar instructed the country’s diplomatic missions in Europe to pressure the various states to designate the Houthis as a “terrorist organization.”
On January 17, the United States announced that it was once again designating the Yemeni rebel group as a terrorist organization, something that Donald Trump already did during his first Administration and then reversed the Government of Joe Biden.
The Houthi rebels, like the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah at the time, began their campaign of launching rockets into Israel following the offensive in Gaza, which has now lasted more than 14 months, routinely reporting their attacks as an act of “support for the Palestinian people.”
Source: www.eldiario.es
