Israel Launches Airstrikes on Yemen    05/06 06:15

   

   JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's military targeted Houthi rebels in Yemen's Red 
Sea province of Hodeida on Monday with a punishing round of airstrikes, killing 
at least one person and wounding 35. The strikes came a day after the 
Iranian-backed rebels launched a missile that hit Israel's main airport.

   The rebels' media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida 
port Monday afternoon. Other strikes hit a cement factory in the Bajil 
district, located 55 kilometers (34 miles) northeast of Hodeida city, the 
rebels said. The extent of damage at the two facilities wasn't immediately 
clear.

   The Israeli military said more than 20 Israeli fighter planes took part in 
the operation, dropping more than 50 munitions on dozens of targets.

   Hodeida residents said they heard explosions at the port, with flames and 
smoke seen rising over the area. Ambulance sirens were also heard across the 
city, they said.

   "It was very strong," Ahmed Saleh, who lives close to the port, said of the 
explosions.

   In Bajil, fires and thick columns of smoke were seen over the cement 
factory, which the Houthis said was hit by both U.S. and Israeli strikes. 
Ambulances also rushed to the area, said resident Khalid Seif.

   The Houthi-run health ministry said at least one person was killed and 35 
others were wounded in the Israeli strikes on the factory. It said rescuers 
were still searching for missing people.

   On Sunday, the Houthis launched a missile from Yemen that struck an access 
road near Israel's main airport, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. 
Four people were lightly injured. It was the first time a missile struck the 
grounds of Israel's airport since the start of the war.

   The Houthis claimed that the strikes were a joint Israeli-American 
operation. However, a U.S. defense official said U.S. forces did not 
participate in the Israeli strikes on Yemen on Monday. The strikes were not 
part of Operation Rough Rider, which is the ongoing U.S. military operation 
against the Houthis in Yemen to prevent them from targeting ships in the Red 
Sea that started March 15. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to 
discuss sensitive matters.

   Separately, the U.S. military launched multiple strikes Monday on Sanaa, 
another U.S. official said. That official also spoke on condition of anonymity 
to discuss military operations.

   Nasruddin Amer, head of the Houthi media office, said the Israeli strikes 
won't deter the rebels, vowing they will respond to the attack.

   "The aggressive Zionist-American raids on civilian facilities will not 
affect our military operations against the Zionist enemy entity," he said on 
social media.

   He said the Houthis will escalate their attacks and won't stop targeting 
shipping routes and Israel until it stops the war in Gaza.

   The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in solidarity with 
Palestinians, raising their profile at home and internationally 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 daily airstrikes targeting the Houthis 
since March 15.

   Houthi rebels have fired at Israel since the war with Gaza began on Oct. 7, 
2023. The missiles have mostly been intercepted, although some have penetrated 
Israel's missile defense systems, causing damage. Israel has struck back 
against the rebels in Yemen.

   The Israeli military said it targeted the Hodeida port because Houthi rebels 
were using it to receive weapons and military equipment from Iran. Rebel-held 
Hodeida, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the capital Sanaa, has 
been key for food shipments into Yemen as its decade-long war continues.

   Israel has struck Yemen, and specifically the port city of Hodeida, multiple 
times. It previously 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 rebel missile 
targeted Israel's Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was 
arriving back to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine 
people in Hodeida. The Houthis have launched multiple missiles toward Israel in 
the past week.

   The attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday came hours before 
Israeli Cabinet ministers voted to expand the war in Gaza, including to seize 
the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified 
amount of time. While air traffic resumed after an hour, the attack could lead 
to cancelations of many airlines, which had recently resumed flights to Israel.