Jerusalem, Dec 19 (EFE).- The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said Thursday that it had bombed military positions of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been attacking Israeli territory since the start of the war in Gaza.
A Houthi fighter mans a machine gun with a poster of the Houthis’ leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, during a mobilization campaign, in Sana’a, Yemen, 18 December 2024. EFE/EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Israeli fighter jets “struck military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and in inland Yemen,” the IDF said on Telegram.
“The targets struck by the IDF were used by the Houthi forces for military purposes. The strikes degrade the Houthi terrorist regime, preventing it from exploiting the targets for military and terrorist purposes, including the smuggling of Iranian weapons to the region,” it added.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a video message that among the targets bombed were ports and energy infrastructure in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital under Houthi control.
Confirmation of the attack came hours after Israel sounded warning sirens after a missile was launched from Yemen and intercepted by the Israeli air force before it entered its territory.
“The Houthi terror regime fired a missile towards central Israel forcing millions of civilians to take cover in bomb shelters,” Hagari said.
He stressed that Israel will continue “to act against anyone in the Middle East that threatens” the country and “will not hesitate to act in order to defend itself and its citizens from the Houthi attacks.”
Israeli forces have twice bombed the Yemeni port of Al-Hudaydah, used by the Houthis, the last time in late September, which the Houthis said killed five people.
Members of the Iranian-led Shiite branch of Islam, the Houthis have controlled large regions of central, northern and western Yemen since taking up arms against the internationally recognised Yemeni government in 2014.
Their attacks, which are backed by Iran, have severely impacted international trade and forced major shipping companies to divert their routes instead of using the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
In response, Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom have responded with bombings on Houthi territory. EFE
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