One day after the deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv, Israeli airstrikes attack the Yemeni Houthis.

CNN
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A day after the Iran-backed group claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, Israeli airstrikes targeted Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Israeli military said its warplanes struck “military targets of the terrorist Houthi regime” in the area of ​​the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on Saturday. Spokesman Daniel Haggari said the attacks were a response both to the death of a 50-year-old Israeli in a Houthis’ drone attack on Tel Aviv on Friday and to the roughly 200 missiles the rebel group has fired at Israel since October.

According to Israeli officials, this is the first time Israel has attacked Yemen.

The Houthi-run Al Masirah television station reported that the Israeli attacks targeted oil facilities in the port on Yemen’s west coast, adding that there were deaths and injuries.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said the attacks also hit civilian targets and a power plant. He condemned the “brutal Israeli aggression” that aims to increase the “suffering of the Yemeni people” and pressure the country to end its support for Gaza.

The Houthi Supreme Political Council vowed to respond with “more effective strikes on the enemy” and reiterated its solidarity with the Palestinian people, according to Al Masirah TV.

Israeli officials said Hodeidah was the target because it is the main supply route for Iranian weapons to Yemen. An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said the targets were dual-use infrastructure that was also used for terrorist activities.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “the blood of Israeli citizens has its price” and if Israelis were attacked, the “result will be identical” to that in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

“The fire currently burning in Hodeidah can be seen throughout the Middle East and its significance is clear,” Gallant said. “The first time they harmed an Israeli citizen, we beat them. And we will do so anywhere it may be required.”

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Yemeni rebels have regularly attacked the country with drones and missiles, but most of these have been intercepted by Israel’s defenses or those of its allies. However, Friday’s drone attack in Tel Aviv – which the Houthis said was carried out by a new drone capable of “evading the enemy’s interception systems” – killed one person and wounded at least 10 others.

In addition, the Houthis regularly attacked US targets and merchant shipping in the Red Sea.

Both the UK and the US responded to the ship attacks with attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen. However, Israel did not participate in these responses.

An Israeli defense official told CNN that it was a 100 percent Israeli attack. The official said Israel had previously let the US and Britain take the lead in responding to Houthi attacks, but this time decided to respond on its own due to the death of the Israeli citizen in Tel Aviv.

According to the official, Gallant informed U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin before carrying out the attack.

The defense official added that Israel was able to strike so quickly because it had been preparing for this scenario for months.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Israel had “dealt a serious blow to the Iran-backed terrorist organization in Yemen today” and warned it would “hit anyone who attacks us.”

He also called on the international community to “maximize sanctions against Iran.”

““Iran supports, trains and finances the Houthi terrorist organization as part of its regional network of terrorist organizations whose goal is to launch attacks against Israel,” he said.

“Iran is the head of the snake – it must be stopped now,” Katz added.

A White House official said US President Joe Biden had been briefed on the “developments” in the Middle East. A spokesman for the White House National Security Council said the US had not coordinated the airstrikes with Israel, but added that the US fully recognizes “Israel’s right to self-defense.”

In May, at least 16 people were killed and another 35 injured in US-British air strikes on the Houthi rebels in Hodeidah.

This is a developing story and will be updated.