Israel Attacks Ports and Power Plant in Houthi-Controlled Parts of Yemen

Israeli warplanes bombed ports and a power plant in Yemeni territory controlled by the Houthis on Friday, the Israeli military said, in the latest attempt to force it. the Iranian-backed militant group to stop shooting at Israel and commercial ships in the Red Sea.

In recent weeks, Israel has stepped up its attacks against the Houthis in response to repeated attacks by the Yemeni militia, which has launched missiles and drones against Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. The United States and Great Britain they also hit Yemen repeatedly in an effort to secure international waterways from Houthi attacks, including new US attacks Wednesday.

But it was unclear whether Israel and its allies could successfully force the Houthis to end their attacks on Israel and ships through a bombing campaign. Months of Israeli and American airstrikes have failed to deter the well-equipped militia from carrying out attacks.

The Israeli military said it had bombed the Hezyaz power plant near Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital, and the Red Sea ports of Hudaydah and Ras Isa. The power plant is not far from where thousands of Yemenis had gathered in a weekly demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinians, and Ras Isa is Yemen’s main oil export terminal.

Experts have warned that attacking ports such as Hudaydah, a major conduit for essential supplies in northern Yemen, could. aggravates further what is already one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Torn by civil war for more than a decade, millions of people in Yemen face the threat of malnutrition, according to the United Nations.

The Israeli military said it had struck targets at sites that were being used by the Houthis for military purposes. More than 20 planes took part in the operation, which required in-flight refueling, and dropped about 50 rounds of ammunition, said a military official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity in accordance with military protocol.

A worker at the Hezyaz power plant was injured, according to al-Masira, the Houthi-affiliated broadcaster. There were no other immediate reports of serious casualties.

“The port of Hudaydah is paralyzed and the port of Ras Isa is on fire,” Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said in a statement. “The message is clear: Anyone who harms Israel will be hit tenfold.”

The Houthis, who control much of western Yemen, are more than 1,000 miles from Israeli territory and have survived numerous efforts to defeat them since they rose to power in a civil war that began in 2014. The U.S. they designate the Houthis as a terrorist group. , and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, allies of the United States in the region, intervened in the civil war to fight against the Houthis.

Since the attack led by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023 provoked the Gaza war, the Houthis have fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel. They have too hampered global shipping firing at the passing trade charges in a self-declared effort to enforce a blockade on Israel.

Over the past two months, the Houthis have stepped up their attacks, sending Israelis across central Israel scrambling for bomb shelters late at night as air raid sirens sound. On Thursday, Houthi militants shot down three drones in Israeli territory; the Israeli military said it intercepted them all.

Israel has bombed Yemen several times in response – sending its jets more than 1,000 miles to do so – but has struggled to decisively subdue the Houthis.

After Friday’s strikes, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “the Houthis are paying, and will continue to pay, a heavy price for their aggression against us.”

But the options of Israel against his distant enemies are limited. Israel’s security establishment has never prioritized Yemen and for years has not focused intensely on gathering intelligence on the Houthis, experts say.

The Houthis rarely expend their ammunition in massive barrages, instead firing one missile or drone at a time. They will likely maintain that pace for a long time, military experts say. Even if there was a ceasefire in Gaza, the Houthis could continue to fire in an attempt to exploit their new significance on the regional stage, they say.

On Friday, Mr. Katz threatened to kill Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the group, as well as his other commanders.

“No one is immune,” Mr. Katz said. “We will drive you out and destroy the infrastructure of terror you have built. The long arm of Israel will reach you, wherever you are.

Israel’s intelligence agencies have spent months hunting Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas, in the relatively small enclave of the Gaza Strip. Experts say it would be much more difficult to locate Houthi leaders in Yemen’s much larger and less well-monitored territory.

Here are other developments in the region:

• An Israeli air strike on Friday in southern Lebanon killed at least two people, according to the country’s health ministry, a day after Lebanon. elect a new president amid rising hopes for peace and stability. The attack, which Lebanon’s state news agency said targeted a vehicle, comes with just over two weeks until a ceasefire agreement expires between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Amid accusations of ceasefire violations by both sides, Lebanon told the UN Security Council that Israel had launched more than 800 “ground and air strikes” since the cease-fire The fire came into effect in November.

Jonathan Reiss, Euan Ward, Stephen Castle and Eric Schmitt contributed report.