Israeli airstrikes target Yemen's Houthis a day following the deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv

The rebel group launched a deadly drone attack on Tel Aviv the day before, and the Israeli army announced on Saturday that it had attacked multiple Houthi targets in western Yemen. Since the Israel-Hamas conflict started in October, the Israeli strikes seem to be the first to occur on Yemeni territory.

“A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the area of the Al Hudaydah (Hodeidah) Port in Yemen in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the state of Israel in recent months,” the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

According to Al-Masirah TV, a media organization under the leadership of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, attacks on the port's oil and diesel storage facilities as well as the local electrical business resulted in fatalities, injuries, and multiple cases of serious burns. It reported there was a sizable fire at the port and that there were numerous power outages.

Mohammed Abdulsalam, a spokesman for the Houthis, claimed on the social networking site X that Yemen was the target of "blatant Israeli aggression" that attacked the province's power plant and fuel storage facilities. "To increase the suffering of the people and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza," he stated as the strikes' stated goals.

According to Abdulsalam, the strikes will only strengthen Yemen's military forces' and people's resolve to back Gaza. "There will be impactful strikes," Yemen's Supreme Political Council member Mohamed Ali al-Houthi tweeted on X.

According to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, "the blood of Israeli citizens has a price" and an attack on Israelis would have the same "result" as those in Gaza and Lebanon.

“The fire that is currently burning in Hodeidah is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear,” Gallant said. “The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required.”

The Yemeni rebels have been launching drone attacks and missiles into Israel since the beginning of Israel's conflict with Hamas in Gaza. However, the majority of these attacks have been thwarted by Israel's defenses. Additionally, they have frequently assaulted US sites in the Red Sea as well as commercial vessels.

In response to the attacks on shipping, the US and the UK have both launched strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen. But this is Israel's first attack against Yemen.

A drone strike near a U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv on Friday left at least one person dead and multiple others injured. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack.