Israel strikes Hodeidah port, threatens naval, air blockade

By Jana Choukeir

DUBAI (Reuters) -Israel's navy struck the Yemen Red Sea port of Hodeidah on Thursday and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened the Iran-aligned Houthis with a naval and air blockade if attacks on Israel continue.

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said Israel targeted the docks of Al Hodeidah port with two strikes. The Israeli army said in a statement that Israel's navy struck Houthi targets, adding the port is used by the Houthis to transfer weapons.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The strikes come after the Israeli military on Monday urged the evacuation of the Houthi-controlled ports of Ras Isa, Hodeidah and Salif.

"We warned the Houthi terror organization that if they continue to fire toward Israel, they will face a powerful response and will be subjected to a naval and aerial blockade", Katz said in a statement on X.

Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have fired at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade, in what it says are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

Most of the dozens of missiles and drones fired towards Israel have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.

Israel has severely weakened other allies of Iran in the region - Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Tehran-backed Houthis and pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq are still standing.

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Saad Sayeed, Lincoln Feast and Michael Perry)