Tensions Escalate as Israel Retaliates Against Houthis in Yemen

Last Updated on 21/07/2024 by wccexam Desk

Israel launched airstrikes on Saturday targeting the Houthi-controlled Al Hudaydah oil port in Yemen, setting fuel storage facilities and a power plant on fire. Videos circulating on social media showed a large blaze and thick plumes of smoke rising from the port area.

The attack came a day after a Houthi drone strike killed at least one civilian in Tel Aviv, Israel. In response, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said they struck “several Houthi targets” in the western port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold.

According to the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV, the Israeli strikes targeted oil facilities in the port on Yemen’s west coast and injured at least 80 people, most with severe burns. The Houthi-affiliated news agency SABA also reported two fatalities from the airstrikes.

Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam condemned the Israeli attack as a “brutal aggression against Yemen,” stating it targeted fuel storage and a power plant to pressure Yemen into stopping its support for Palestinians in the Gaza war[1]. Israeli Defense Minister Yaov Gallant praised the strikes, saying the Houthis had attacked Israel over 200 times before harming an Israeli citizen, prompting retaliation.

The Al Arabiya news outlet, citing sources, claimed the attack on Al-Hudaydah’s fuel depot and oil refineries was carried out jointly by Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom, with 12 Israeli F-35 fighter jets participating.

The situation remains tense as the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen continues to escalate. The airstrikes on Al Hudaydah’s vital oil infrastructure are likely to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, which has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014.

Tensions Escalate as Israel Retaliates Against Houthis in Yemen

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