New Delhi: Israel carried out airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah port on Monday, a day after a missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels landed near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. Visuals from the port showed a massive fireball followed by thick smoke rising into the sky.
The Israeli government had vowed a strong response after the missile attack, which marked the first successful Houthi strike near Tel Aviv in recent months. Although most of the missiles and drones fired by the Houthis since March have been intercepted by Israeli air defence systems, Sunday’s strike managed to bypass them, raising fresh security concerns. A similar drone incident occurred last year in Tel Aviv, but this was the first known missile to evade interception.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that Israel would retaliate against the Houthis, who have been launching missile and drone attacks from Yemen—both at Israeli territory and Red Sea shipping routes—in what they claim is an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
In response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the Houthis issued a statement late Sunday threatening to impose a full-scale aerial blockade on Israel. The group announced plans to repeatedly target Israeli airports, naming Ben Gurion Airport as their primary target.
Their Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, which was set up last year to communicate with commercial shipping operators, released a message urging international airlines to halt flights to Israeli airports. The statement, which the Houthis said had been sent to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), warned of continued attacks unless Israel halts its operations in Gaza.
“We call upon all international airlines to take this announcement seriously and cancel all flights to the criminal Israeli enemy’s airports, in order to protect passengers and aircraft,” the message read.
