Israel launches deadly air raids against Yemen after intercepting missile

Israeli fighter jets have launched widespread air raids against Houthi targets in Yemen, killing at least nine people in the port city of Hodeidah.

Isreali military said it had attacked “military targets” belonging to Houthi fighters “in the western coastal strip and deep inside Yemen” on Thursday morning, after intercepting a missile fired by the group towards Israel.

“The targets attacked are used by the Houthi forces for their military operations,” the military said in a statement.

According to Times of Israel, scores of combat jets along with fuelling and intelligence aircraft took part in the raids.

The attack underscores the increasing involvement of regional actors in the ongoing conflict surrounding Israel, as tensions continue to grow.

The Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group with ties to Iran, have previously expressed solidarity with Palestinian factions in Gaza.

The Houthi-aligned Al Masirah TV channel said that a series of “aggressive raids” were launched on Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah in the wee hours of Thursday.

The attacks “targeted two central power plants” in Sanaa, while in Hodeidah, “the enemy launched four aggressive raids targeting the port … and two raids targeting” an oil facility, Al Masirah reported.

Yemen’s SABA news agency also said that four raids targeted Hodeidah, with two targeting the Ras Isa oil facility, killing and injuring some of its employees.

Houthi fighters in Yemen have carried out months of attacks on Israel, and shipping linked to Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in what it says is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 45,000 people, the majority being women and children.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook