Israel‘s military said Tuesday it launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, fully disabling the country’s international airport in the capital, Sanaa, and striking several power plants.
The strikes, the second in two days, came after Israel launched airstrikes in retaliation for a Houthi missile strike the previous day on Israel’s international airport.
The Houthis’ satellite news channel al-Masirah reported the strikes, confirming the airport had been hit.
Footage aired on Israeli television showed thick black plumes of smoke rising above the skyline of Sanaa. Social media video purported to show multiple strikes around Sanaa, with black smoke rising as the thumps of the blast echoed against the surrounding mountains. There was no immediate information on any casualties.
Tuesday’s strike came shortly after the military issued a warning on social media for people to evacuate the area of Yemen’s international airport.
“We urge you to immediately evacuate the area of the airport and to warn anyone nearby to distance themselves immediately,” spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on social media, attaching a map of Sanaa International Airport. “Failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.”
MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images
On Monday night, Israel targeted the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeida, killing at least one person and wounding 35. The rebels’ media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port. Others hit a cement factory in the district of Bajil, 55 kilometers, 34 miles, northeast of Hodeida, the rebels said. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the strikes killed at least four people and wounded 39 others.
The Houthis on Sunday launched a missile that struck an access road near Israel’s main airport near Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were lightly injured.
It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Israel’s main airport, Ben Gurion, since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. It prompted a flurry of flight cancellations. While most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some have penetrated Israel’s missile defense systems, causing damage.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, raising their profile as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.
The U.S. military under President Donald Trump has launched an intensified campaign of airstrikes targeting the Houthis since March 15. USCENTCOM says it has has struck over 800 targets, killing hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders.
The strikes have also destroyed command-and-control facilities, air defense systems and advanced weapons manufacturing facilities and storage locations, USCENTCOM said.
“We will continue to ratchet up the pressure until the objective is met, which remains the restoration of freedom of navigation and American deterrence in the region,” it said.
U.S. officials said, however, that the U.S. military did not take part in Tuesday’s wave of Israeli airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Israel has repeatedly struck against the rebels in Yemen. It struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv.
In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people after a missile targeted Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeida.
The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa suspended its operations a decade ago, several months after Yemen’s civil war started. The U.S. government says Americans should not travel to Yemen for any reason and that it is unable to provide emergency services to citizens there.
contributed to this report.
