Israeli army launches air raids on Yemen’s Ras Isa and Hodeidah

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Attacks on western Yemen come a day after Houthis say they fired a missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military says its fighter jets have launched air raids on Houthi targets in Yemen.

In a statement on Sunday, the military said it had targeted Ras Isa and Hodeidah.

“Over the past year, the Houthis have been operating under the direction and funding of Iran, and in cooperation with Iraqi militias in order to attack the State of Israel, undermine regional stability, and disrupt global freedom of navigation,” the statement added.

Israel previously hit the Hodeidah port in July, causing what a port official said was at least $20 million in damage, after a Houthi drone strike penetrated Israel’s air defences and killed a civilian in Tel Aviv.

On Sunday, the Houthi-controlled Al Masirah station said the Israeli attacks targeted “the ports of Hodeidah and Ras Isa”, as well as two power stations.

The strikes caused power outages in most parts of the port city of Hodeidah, residents in the region added.

These fresh wave of strikes in Yemen, came a day after the Houthis said they fired a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv in Israel.

Since October 7, the Houthis have repeatedly launched attacks at Israel and on Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait since November of last year, in what the rebel group controlling much of northern Yemen describes as a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier this month, the Houthis reached central Israel with what they described as a hypersonic missile, causing fires, triggering air raid sirens, and sending residents running for shelter in the area around Ben Gurion airport.

Now, as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, the Houthis are also demanding that Israel halt its assault on Lebanon.

Earlier, the Yemeni group also mourned the death of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who they said was their ally in an Iran-backed alliance opposing Israel.

Source

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Al Jazeera

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Al Jazeera and news agencies