Israeli military airstrikes hit Houthi targets in Yemen in retaliation for attacks

Israel retaliated for the Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv with airstrikes in Yemen on Saturday that reportedly hit oil and diesel storage facilities at a port.

A media company that is Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen reported the airstrikes in the port city of Hodeidah, which also hit a local electricity company. Al-Masirah TV said the attacks left dead and injured but gave no details, the Associated Press reported.

It was said that there had been a major fire in the port and that there had been widespread power outages.

Health officials in Yemen told the AP that several people were killed and others injured in the attacks, but did not provide further details.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that fighter jets had attacked Houthis’ military targets in the area of ​​the Al Hudaydah port in Yemen. The attacks were a “response to the hundreds of attacks on the State of Israel in recent months,” it said.

A U.S. official also confirmed to CBS News that Israel carried out the airstrikes in Yemen in retaliation for the Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv on Friday that killed at least one person and wounded at least eight others. The official said there was no U.S. involvement in Saturday’s airstrikes.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam wrote on the social media platform X that Yemen was the target of “blatant Israeli aggression” and said the attacks were aimed at “increasing the suffering of the population and putting pressure on Yemen to stop its support for Gaza.”

Abdulsalam said the attacks would only strengthen the resolve of the Yemeni people and its armed forces in their support for Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Saturday that they had retaliated because it was the first time that the Houthi rebels had “harmed an Israeli citizen.”

“And we will do that wherever it may be required,” he said. “The blood of Israeli citizens has its price. That was clear in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and other places – if they dare to attack us, the result will be the same.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacked port was not an “innocent port” and was used as a “gateway for deadly weapons supplied by Iran to the Houthis.”

“I have a message to Israel’s enemies: Don’t misunderstand us. We will protect ourselves in every possible way and on all fronts. Anyone who harms us will pay a very high price for their aggression,” he said.

A massive explosion rocked the streets of central Tel Aviv early Friday morning, jolting Israelis from their beds, shattering windows and raining shrapnel. Israeli military officials later said the explosion was caused by a drone fired from Yemen.

The Houthi rebels, who have been fighting Yemen’s internationally recognized government for a decade, claimed responsibility for the explosion and said in social media messages that it marked a “new phase” of their operations against Israel in response to the Israeli attacks. ongoing war against the Houthis’ ideological ally, Hamas.

The Houthis said the attack involved a “new drone called ‘Yafa’ that is capable of evading enemy interception systems.” However, a US official told CBS News on Friday, echoing the Israeli military’s analysis, that it was apparently one of the group’s existing drones, equipped with a modified fuel tank to increase its range.

The explosion caused by the drone occurred very close to the US consulate in Tel Aviv, but it remained unclear whether this was the target.

Based on verified social media videos, CBS News confirmed that the explosion occurred just over 200 meters from the U.S. consulate in Tel Aviv. A U.S. official told CBS News that no American casualties were reported.

Since January, the American and British forces Attacks on targets in Yemenin response to the Houthis’ attacks on merchant ships, which the rebels described as retaliation for Israel’s actions in the Gaza war. However, many of the ships attacked have no connection to Israel.

The joint air strikes have so far had little deterrent effect on the Iranian-backed troops.

The Houthis have fired drones and rockets at Israel and on merchant and military ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters during the nine-month war, in solidarity with Hamas. But as of Friday, all weapons fired at Israel had been intercepted by either Israel or its Western allies.

CBS News’ Tucker Reals and Eleanor Watson contributed to this report.