Israel hits Yemen's main airport in airstrike against Houthis

By Mohammed Ghobari

ADEN (Reuters) -The Israeli military carried out an airstrike on Yemen's main airport in Sanaa on Tuesday, its second attack in two days on Iran-aligned Houthi rebels after a surge in tensions between the group and Israel.

Israel warned people to leave the area around Sanaa International Airport before Tuesday's attack, which it said targeted Houthi infrastructure and "fully disabled the airport". Witnesses later reported four strikes in the capital.

Tensions have been high since the Gaza war began, but have risen further since a Houthi missile landed near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday.

"A short while ago, IDF (Israel Defence Forces) fighter jets struck and dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure at the main airport in Sanaa, fully disabling the airport," the Israeli military said.

"The strike was carried out in response to the attack launched by the Houthi terrorist regime against Ben Gurion Airport. Flight runways, aircraft, and infrastructure at the airport were struck."

There was no immediate word of any casualties in Tuesday's strike, which was preceded by Israel issuing a warning to evacuate the area around the airport and publishing a map of the vicinity.

Three airport sources told Reuters that the strikes targeted three civilian airplanes, the departures hall, the airport runway and a military air base under Houthi control.

The Israeli military said the airport had been "a central hub for the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons and operatives."

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi political bureau, told pro-Iran Al-Mayadeen broadcaster that the movement would hit back.

"Our military operation in support of Gaza will continue and will not stop," he said. "Wait for the Yemeni response."

'AXIS OF RESISTANCE'

The Houthis have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea since Israel began its military offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian militant group's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Houthis say they are doing so in solidarity with the Palestinians and have pressed on with attacks in response to Israel expanding its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis said on Sunday they would impose a "comprehensive" aerial blockade on Israel by repeatedly targeting its airports.

Sixty percent of Yemenis live under the control of the Houthis, a resilient group that withstood years of Saudi-led bombing during the country's devastating civil war.

The Houthis are part of Iran's "Axis of Resistance" against Israeli and U.S. interests in the Middle East, which also includes Lebanon's Hezbollah and Hamas.

While Israel has weakened those groups by assassinating top leaders and destroying military infrastructure since the Gaza war began, the Houthis are still a force to be reckoned with.

The Israeli strikes around Hodeidah on Monday killed four people and wounded 39, the Houthi-run health ministry said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed to retaliate after the missile launched by the Houthis landed near Ben Gurion Airport and led to European and U.S. airlines cancelling flights.

(Additional reporting by Tala Ramadan and Ahmed Elimam in Dubai and Menna Alaa El Din; Writing by Ahmed Elimam and Michael Georgy; Editing by Ros Russell and Timothy Heritage)