Israel has attacked ports and a power plant in parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthis

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

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

But it was not clear whether Israel and its allies could successfully force the Houthis to end their attacks on Israel and ships with a bombing campaign. Months of Israeli and US airstrikes have failed to deter the well-equipped militia from carrying out attacks.

The Israeli military said it bombed the Hezyaz power plant near Sana’a, 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 have gathered for a weekly rally in solidarity with the Palestinians, and Ras Isa is Yemen’s main oil export terminal.

Experts have warned that an attack on ports such as Hudaydah, the main conduit for essential supplies in northern Yemen, could worsen further which is already one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. 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 struck targets at sites used by the Houthis for military purposes. More than 20 aircraft took part in the operation, which required in-flight refueling, and dropped about 50 munitions, said a military official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity in accordance with military protocol.

One worker at the Hezyaz power plant was wounded, al-Masira, a Houthi-affiliated television station, reported. 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, Israel’s defense minister, said in a statement. “The message is clear: Anyone who harms Israel will be struck tenfold.”

The Houthis, who control much of western Yemen, are more than 1,000 miles from Israeli territory and have survived numerous attempts to defeat them since they came to power in a civil war that began in 2014. The United States designates the Houthis a terrorist group, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, America’s allies in the region, intervened in the civil war to fight the Houthis.

Since a Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, the Houthis have fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel. They also have hindered global navigation shooting at passing commercial freighters in a self-proclaimed attempt to enforce a blockade of Israel.

Over the past two months, the Houthis have stepped up their attacks, sending Israelis across central Israel rushing to bomb shelters late at night as air raid sirens blare. On Thursday, Houthi militants fired three drones into Israeli territory; the Israeli army said it had intercepted all of them.

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

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

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

The Houthis rarely expend their ammunition in massive barrages, instead firing a missile or drone all at once. They could probably maintain that pace for a long time, military experts say. Even if a cease-fire were to occur in Gaza, the Houthis could continue firing in an attempt to exploit their newfound prominence on the regional stage, they say.

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

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

Israeli intelligence agencies have spent months searching for Yahya Sinwar, the leader 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-controlled territory.

Here are other events in the region:

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

Jonathan Reiss, Euan Ward, Stjepan Castle and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting.