Israeli fighter jets struck Houthi military targets near Yemen’s Hodeidah port on Saturday, killing at least three people and wounding 87, a day after a drone launched by the Iranian-backed group hit Israeli economic hub Tel Aviv.
Most of the wounded suffered severe burns in air strikes that targeted oil facilities and a power station, Al-Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Yemen’s Houthi movement, quoted the health ministry as saying.
Hodeidah residents told Reuters by phone that explosions were heard throughout the city during an intensive bombardment, and Al-Masirah TV said civil defence forces and firefighters were trying to extinguish fires in the port’s oil tanks.
Israel’s military spokesperson said the port had been used by the Houthis to receive weapons shipments from Iran.
The targets, more than 1,700 km (1,056 miles) from Israel, included dual-use sites such as energy infrastructure, he said.
Israel had informed allies before the strike, which the military said was carried out by Israeli F-15 fighters that all returned safely.
The Houthis’ Supreme Political Council said there would be an “effective response” to the strikes.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the Houthis “will not hesitate to strike vital targets of the Israeli enemy.”
The strike on Yemen, which Israeli officials said came after more than 200 Houthi attacks on Israel, underlined fears that the Gaza war triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, could spiral into a regional conflict.
On Friday, a long-range Iranian-made drone launched from Yemen hit the centre of Tel Aviv in an attack claimed by the Houthis, killing one man and wounding four others.
That attack followed an escalation in the daily exchange of fire between Israeli forces and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon and came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to travel to Washington, where he is due to address the US Congress.
Netanyahu called on the international community to step up pressure on Tehran and its proxies – the Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah – and in so doing help secure international trade routes.
“Whoever wants to see a stable and safe Middle East needs to stand against Iran’s axis of evil, and support Israel’s struggle against Iran and its proxies,” Netanyahu said.
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