The targets included “military infrastructure” at the airport and power stations in Sanaa and Hodeida, as well as other facilities at Hodeida, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports, an Israeli statement said.
“These military targets were used by the Huthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials,” the statement said.
“The Huthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror,” it added.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes as a “violation” of peace and security.
“These aggressions are a clear violation of international peace and security and an undeniable crime against the heroic and noble people of Yemen,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement.
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip, condemned the attack as an “aggression” against its “brothers from Yemen”.
On Saturday, days ahead of Wednesday’s missile and drone strike on Israel, 16 people were wounded by a Huthi attack in Tel Aviv.
The incident prompted a warning from Netanyahu, who said he ordered the destruction of the rebel group’s infrastructure.
The Huthis have fired a series of missiles and drones at Israel since the eruption of war in Gaza in October last year, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.
The rebels, part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States, have also waged a months-long campaign against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Scores of drone and missile attacks on cargo ships have prompted a series of reprisal strikes by US and sometimes British forces.
‘Pay a heavy price’
Israel has also previously struck the Huthis in Yemen, including hitting ports and energy facilities, after rebel attacks against its territory.
In July, a Huthi drone attack on Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on Hodeida.
Last week, before the latest volley of attacks, Netanyahu said the Huthis would “pay a very heavy price” for their strikes on Israel.
His defence minister Israel Katz said Thursday that Israel would “hunt down all the Huthi leaders… No one will be able to escape us”.
The Huthis control large parts of Yemen after seizing the capital and ousting the internationally recognised government in September 2014.
A Saudi-led coalition launched a military campaign to dislodge them in March 2015, triggering a war that has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
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© 2024 AFP
