Sanaa: Israel's navy says it has totally disabled Yemen's principal airport

[ad_1] JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s navy mentioned Tuesday it launched airstrikes in opposition to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen that totally disabled the nation’s worldwide airport within the capital, Sanaa.

The strikes got here after Israel launched comparable attacks on Monday in retaliation for a Houthi missile strike the day prior to this on Israel’s international airport .

The Houthis’ satellite tv for pc information channel al-Masirah reported the strikes, confirming the airport had been hit. A number of energy crops have been additionally struck, Israel’s navy mentioned.

Footage aired on Israeli tv confirmed thick black plumes of smoke rising above the skyline of Sanaa. Social media video purported to point out a number of strikes round Sanaa, with black smoke rising because the thumps of the blast echoed in opposition to the encompassing mountains.

There was no instant data on any casualties.

The strike got here shortly after the navy issued a warning on social media for folks to evacuate the realm of Yemen’s worldwide airport.

“We urge you to instantly evacuate the realm of the airport and to warn anybody close by to distance themselves instantly,” spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on social media Tuesday, attaching a map of Sanaa Worldwide Airport. “Failure to evacuate the realm endangers your lives.”

Israel’s protection minister, Israel Katz, mentioned the strike needs to be seen as a warning to the “head of the Iranian octopus,” which he mentioned bears direct duty for assaults by the Houthis in opposition to Israel.

On Monday, Israel focused Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Crimson Sea province of Hodeida, killing at the least one individual and wounding 35. The rebels’ media workplace mentioned at the least six strikes hit the essential Hodeida port, whereas others hit a cement manufacturing unit within the district of Bajil, 55 kilometers (34 miles) northeast of Hodeida. The Houthi-run Well being Ministry mentioned the strikes killed at the least 4 folks and wounded 39 others.

The Houthis on Sunday launched a missile that struck an access road near Israel’s main airport close to Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter site visitors. 4 folks have been barely injured. It was the primary time a missile struck the grounds of Ben Gurion airport for the reason that October 2023 begin of the struggle in Gaza. Whereas most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some have penetrated Israel’s missile protection programs, inflicting injury.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Particular Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, mentioned the strikes carried out on Israel and Yemen’s airport marked a “grave escalation in an already fragile and risky regional context.” He urged the events to point out restraint.

The Houthis have focused Israel all through the struggle in solidarity with Palestinians within the Gaza Strip, elevating their profile because the final member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” able to launching common assaults on Israel.

The U.S. navy beneath President Donald Trump has launched an intensified campaign of airstrikes concentrating on the Houthis since March 15.

Israel has repeatedly struck in opposition to the rebels in Yemen. It struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one individual and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv.

In September, Israel struck Hodeida once more, killing at the least 4 folks after a missile focused Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the nation. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeida.

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Gambrell contributed from Dubai. Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

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