Israeli Military Shows Its Might In Far-Reaching Strikes On Houthi Targets In Yemen | Watch

Dozens of Israeli aircraft, including fighter jets and refueling planes, conducted extensive strikes on Sunday on targets belonging to the Houthis in the Ras Isa and Hodeida areas of Yemen.

In a video released on Monday, the Israeli military highlighted how this large-scale operation showcased its capability to reach distant targets that pose a threat to the country. The IDF demonstrated how it used the country’s military might to hit power stations and a seaport used for military supplies, nearly 2,000 km away from its homeland.

The short video on X also showed the Israeli Air Force’s midair refueling operation. “WATCH the IAF at work as dozens of IAF aircraft—including fighter jets and refueling aircraft—conducted strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime in the areas of Ras Isa and Hudaydah in Yemen,” the IDF said in a post on X. The strikes came a day after the rebels said they targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport with a missile.

Israeli air strikes on Yemen killed four people on Sunday and wounded more than 30, Houthi media reported, after Israel’s military said it struck targets in the Iran-backed rebels’ territory including Hodeida. Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah TV said a port worker and three engineers were killed with 33 wounded in an “initial toll”, adding ambulance and rescue teams were still searching for missing people.

Power stations and seaport

“In a large-scale air operation today, dozens of Air Force aircraft, including fighter jets, refuelling planes, and reconnaissance aircraft, attacked military-use targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the Ras Issa and Hodeida areas of Yemen,” military spokesman Captain David Avraham said in a statement. “The IDF (military) targeted power stations and a seaport used for oil imports,” a military statement said.

In July Israel also hit Hodeida port, causing what a port official said was at least $20 million in damage, after a Houthi drone strike penetrated Israel’s air defences and killed a civilian in Tel Aviv. Hodeida is a key entry point for fuel and humanitarian aid to war-ravaged Yemen. The sites targeted Sunday were used by the Houthis, who seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014, to “transfer Iranian weaponry to the region and supplies for military needs”, the statement said.

Regular Houthis Attack

“The strike was carried out in response to recent attacks by the Houthi regime against the state of Israel,” it added, after the rebels said they tried to hit Ben Gurion as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived back from New York. Earlier Sunday the military said an “unmanned aerial target” approaching Israel over the Red Sea — where the Houthis have regularly launched attacks on shipping — had been intercepted.

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said “no place is too far” for the Israeli military to strike its enemies, after he monitored the operation from an air force command and control room about 2,000 kilometres from Yemen. Since November the Huthis have targeted Israel and its perceived interests in stated solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, launching dozens of missile and drone strikes that have disrupted global shipping through vital waterways off Yemen.

(With agency inputs)