Israel hits Yemen’s main airport in air strike against Houthis

The Israeli military carried out an air strike on Yemen's main airport in Sanaa on Tuesday, its second attack in two days on Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, after the group launched a missile attack near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport.

Three people were killed in the latest Israeli strike, according to Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.

Israel warned people to leave the area around Sanaa International Airport before Tuesday's attack, which it said targeted Houthi infrastructure and “fully disabled the airport”. Witnesses later reported four strikes in the capital.

Tensions have been high since the Gaza war began, but have risen further since a Houthi missile landed near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, prompting Israeli air strikes on Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday.

“A short while ago, IDF (Israel defence forces) fighter jets struck and dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure at the main airport in Sanaa, fully disabling the airport,” the Israeli military said.

“The strike was carried out in response to the attack launched by the Houthi terrorist regime against Ben Gurion Airport. Flight runways, aircraft and infrastructure at the airport were struck,” it said, referring to the Yemen airport.

The airport's general director said on Wednesday all flights to and from the airport have been suspended until further notice.

The Israeli strikes resulted in “extensive damage” to the airport, Khaled al-Shaief said in a post on X.

Three airport sources had told Reuters the strikes targeted three civilian airplanes, the departures hall, the airport runway and a military airbase under Houthi control.

The Israeli military said the airport had been “a central hub for the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons and operatives.”

In a statement carried by al-Masirah, the Houthis said: “The operations of our armed forces will continue and the support by Yemen to Palestine will only end with the end of the aggression and siege against Gaza.”

UN special envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg said on X the latest hostilities “mark a grave escalation in a  fragile and volatile regional context”.

An official at Yemen's flag carrier Yemenia Airways told Reuters three of its aircraft were destroyed according to an initial assessment.

The Houthis have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea since Israel began its military offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian militant group's deadly attack on Israel on October 7 2023.

The Houthis said they are doing so in solidarity with Palestinians and have pressed on with attacks in response to Israel expanding its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis said on Sunday they would impose a “comprehensive” aerial blockade on Israel by repeatedly targeting its airports.

About 60% of Yemenis live under the control of the Houthis, a resilient group that withstood years of Saudi-led bombing during the country's devastating civil war.

The Houthis are part of Iran's “Axis of Resistance” against Israeli and US interests in the Middle East, which also includes Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

While Israel has weakened the groups by assassinating top leaders and destroying military infrastructure since the Gaza war began, the Houthis are a force to be reckoned with.

The Israeli strikes around Hodeidah on Monday killed four people and wounded 39, the Houthi-run health ministry said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed to retaliate after the missile launched by the Houthis landed near Ben Gurion Airport and led to European and US airlines cancelling flights.

Reuters