Authors Clauda Tanios and Tala Ramadan
DUBAI (Reuters) – Israeli warplanes bombed a power plant and two ports in Houthi-controlled Yemen on Friday in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile attacks on Israel, with pro-Houthi media reporting at least one person killed and nine injured. wounded.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iran-backed Houthi militia “is paying and will continue to pay a high price for its aggression against us.”
The series of airstrikes targeted the Red Sea port of Ras Issa and six others on the main port of Hodeidah, Al Masirah TV, the main Houthi-run news outlet, said, while Harf Sufyan district in Amran province also came under airstrikes.
An employee at Ras Issa port was killed and six others were injured, the paper said.
Earlier, British security firm Ambrey said airstrikes on the port of Ras Issa targeted oil storage facilities near the shipping berths, although there were no reports of merchant ships being damaged.
The supply of petroleum products is stable, Houthi government spokesman Hashem Sharaf Eddine said after the attack.
Thirteen airstrikes also targeted the Hezyaz central power plant in the Yemeni capital Sana’a, Al Masirah TV reported. It was announced that three citizens were injured, including a worker in Hezyaz, and that numerous houses were damaged.
An Israeli military statement confirmed the targets, saying the plant served as “a central source of energy for the Houthi terrorist regime in its military activities.” It added that the attacked targets were examples of “Houthi exploitation of civilian infrastructure”.
In the past 48 hours, the Houthis have fired three drones at the Israeli commercial center of Tel Aviv and multiple drones and missiles at the US aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted Israel, hundreds of kilometers to the north, as well as international ships in waters near Yemen in support of Palestinian militants fighting Israel in Gaza.
Israel responded with airstrikes on Houthi-held areas of Yemen, as well as British and American forces in the region.
Netanyahu said last month that Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the Houthis.
