The strikes “also followed the Houthi’s aggression against the State of Israel since the start of the war,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
By JNS
Israeli Air Force jets struck Houthi terrorist targets in Yemen on Saturday following a deadly drone attack by the Iran-backed group in Tel Aviv the previous day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed.
“From the beginning of the war, I made it clear that Israel would harm anyone who harms us,” Netanyahu said in public remarks on Saturday night. “Accordingly, earlier today, I convened the Security Cabinet and asked it to support my proposal to attack the Houthi targets in Yemen.”
The strikes, which Israel said hit several “military targets” in the port city of Hodeidah, appeared to be the first on Yemeni soil since the Houthis joined the war against the Jewish state in support of Hamas in October.
“The Israeli Air Force struck dual-use infrastructure used for terrorist activities, including energy infrastructures,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.
“Israel’s necessary and proportionate strikes were carried out in order to stop and repell the Houthi’s terror attacks after 9 months of continuous aerial attacks toward Israeli territory.”
Hear from IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari on Israel’s response to the Houthi… pic.twitter.com/VEocconfhJ
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 20, 2024
Netanyahu said the strikes were a “direct response to the drone attack that killed an Israeli citizen and wounded several others. It also followed the Houthi’s aggression against the State of Israel since the start of the war. Over the past eight months, the Houthis have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones towards Israel.”
An Israeli man was killed and four other persons were wounded at 3:12 a.m. on Friday when what the Israel Defense Forces described as an “aerial target” exploded in a residential neighborhood in central Tel Aviv.
The slain man was identified as Yevgeny Ferder, 50.
Medics treated a woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s for shrapnel wounds at the scene before evacuating them to the hospital. Two others were wounded either by shrapnel or the shockwave of the blast.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they used an advanced suicide drone dubbed “Jaffa.” Hagari confirmed that the UAV was an Iranian-made Samad-3, which was upgraded to increase its strike range.
Netanyahu said on Saturday that the retaliation against the Houthis hit targets some 1,120 miles from the Jewish state. “There is no place that the long arm of the State of Israel cannot reach,” he said.
“The port we attacked was not an innocent port. It was used for military purposes and used as an entry point for deadly weapons supplied to the Houthis by Iran,” the prime minister said. “Like Hamas and Hezbollah, the Houthis are an integral part of Iran’s Axis of Evil. This axis operates not only against Israel, it threatens the peace of the entire world.”
כל מי שיפגע בנו ישלם מחיר כבד מאוד על תוקפנותו. pic.twitter.com/FvMsDpg66f
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) July 20, 2024
Jerusalem expects the international community to act against Iran and its proxies, confront Tehran’s aggression and protect shipping lanes threatened by the Houthis,” he said.
“Anyone who wishes to see a stable and safe Middle East should stand against Iran’s Axis of Evil and support Israel’s struggle against Iran and its proxies: in Yemen, Gaza and Lebanon, everywhere,” the Netanyahu said.
Houthi terrorist spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam claimed that the “Israeli aggression” targeted fuel storage facilities and a power station. He said the attacks aim “to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza.”
Yemen’s Al-Masirah television outlet, which is controlled by the Houthis, reported that the strikes caused deaths and injuries in the port area. It said there was a large fire at the port and widespread power cuts.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant remarked on Saturday, “The fire currently burning in Hodeidah is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear. The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them.
“We will do this in any place needed. The blood of Israeli citizens has a price. This has been made clear in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and other places—if they dare to attack us, the result will be identical,” he said.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv as the IAF attacks in Yemen, July 20, 2024. Credit: Yossi Cohen/GPO.
Since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, the Houthis have fired several missiles and drones against the Jewish state, the great majority of which were intercepted by Israeli, U.S. or Saudi forces or missed their targets.
The Houthis since mid-November have also carried out many drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea, in addition to numerous acts of piracy against commercial and military vessels.
The Iran-backed terrorist organization’s official slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse the Jews, Victory to Islam.”