Fear of escalation of Middle East conflict after Israel's retaliation against Huthis
According to experts' assessment, this was the first Israeli attack on the approximately 2000 kilometer distant Yemen. The attack on the strategically important Hodeida port on Saturday was a reaction, as stated by the Israeli army, to "hundreds of attacks" by the pro-Iranian Huthis on Israel in the past few months.
According to Huthi reports, a power plant and fuel storage facility were hit, and a large fire was started. The fire department was still fighting the flames on Sunday, according to Huthi reports. The Health Ministry controlled by the militia reported that "six people were killed" in the attacks. In addition, 83 people were injured and three were still missing on Sunday.
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated after the attack that the Huthis had attacked Israel more than 200 times - now that they had caused damage to Israel for the first time, Israel had reacted. A person was killed in a drone attack by the Huthis on Tel Aviv the night before Friday.
"The fire that is currently burning in Hodeida is visible throughout the Middle East, and the significance is clear," Gallant declared. "The blood of Israeli civilians has a price." He emphasized that Israel had shown this clearly in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, Yemen, and other places - "if they dare to attack us, the result will be the same." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also emphasized in a television address that Israel would defend itself "with all means."
Army spokesman Daniel Hagari stated that the Huthi militia used the Hodeida port "as the main logistics route for the transfer of Iranian weapons." This also applied to the drone used in the attack on Tel Aviv.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared that the attack in Yemen was also a warning to Iran, which supports the Huthis. He called on the international community to "maximize sanctions" against Tehran.
Huthi militia spokesman Jahja Saree threatened a "inevitable and massive" response and declared that the Shia militia had launched ballistic missiles towards the Israeli resort town of Eilat on the Red Sea on Sunday. Previously, the Israeli army had reportedly intercepted another missile launched from Yemen. The missile aimed at Eilat did not reach "Israeli territory."
The Islamist Huthis control large parts of Yemen. They have been in a civil war with the internationally recognized government of the country since 2014, and since then have controlled the capital Sanaa. In November, the Huthis began attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden with alleged ties to Israel. According to their own reports, they want to support the Palestinians in the conflict between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Like Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and other militant groups in Syria and Iraq, the Huthis are supported by Iran and consider themselves part of the Iranian-backed "Axis of Resistance" against Israel. The Iranian leadership denies Israel's right to exist.
The Iran strongly condemned the Israeli attacks on Yemen "in the strongest terms". Spokesperson Nasser Kanani warned on Sunday, with regard to the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, of "escalation of tensions" and "extension of the war" in the region. Meanwhile, the rival regional power Saudi Arabia called on all parties to "exercise maximum restraint and keep the region and its population away from the dangers of war".
In the meantime, the ongoing rocket attacks by Hezbollah on Israel continued. The militia declared on Sunday that it had fired Katyusha rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel. In response, they claimed, to nighttime Israeli shelling, which had allegedly hit a weapons depot and injured six people according to state media reports.
- The Yemeni port of Hodeida, about 2000 kilometers from Teheran, was the target of an Israeli attack on Saturday, marked as a retaliation for the Huthis' frequent attacks on Israel.
- According to the Israeli army, the Huthis had launched over 200 attacks on Israel in recent months, and the Saturday attack on Hodeida was a response to this persistent hostility.
- The attack on the strategically important Hodeida port resulted in a large fire at a power plant and fuel storage facility, which the fire department was still attempting to extinguish on Sunday.
- The Health Ministry, controlled by the Huthi militia, reported that six people had been killed and 83 injured in the attack, with three individuals still missing as of Sunday.
- Israel's Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, emphasized that the Huthis had caused damage to Israel for the first time, prompting Israel's retaliation attack.
- The previous night, a drone attack by the Huthis had targeted Tel Aviv, resulting in the death of a civilian.
- Gallant declared that the Huthis had attacked Israel more than 200 times and the fire in Hodeida was a clear indication of the high price Israel would pay for any attacks against its civilians.
- Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would defend itself "with all means," vowing to respond fiercely to any attacks against it.
- Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the international community to impose heavier sanctions on Iran, which supports the Huthis, in light of the Yemeni port attack.
- The Huthi militia threatened a massive retaliation attack, launching ballistic missiles towards the Israeli resort town of Eilat on the Red Sea on Sunday.
- The ongoing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon continued, with the militia claiming it had fired Katyusha rockets into northern Israel in response to alleged Israeli shelling, resulting in injuries in Lebanon.
