The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that fighter jets struck Houthi "military targets" in the area of the Al Hudaydah Port in western Yemen on Saturday, in an X, formerly Twitter post.
The IDF say the strikes are "in response to the hundreds of attacks" carried out by the Iran-backed group against Israel over the past months. This was the first confirmed report of an Israeli strike on Yemen, which is over 1,000 miles away.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammad Abdulsalam wrote on social media that the attacks seek "to increase the suffering of the people and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza."
Newsweek has reached out to the IDF press team via email on Saturday.
The attack comes a day after the militia group claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Israel's biggest city, Tel Aviv, which killed one person and wounded at least 10, according to the Associated Press.
The Houthi's strike was a rare breach of Israel's "Iron Dome" air-defense system, and the group's first lethal strike inside Israel, which hit near the U.S. Embassy in the city.
On Friday, thousands of Yemenis took to the streets of the capital, Sanaa, celebrating the strike on Israel and showing solidarity with Palestinians, with many waving Palestinian flags.
In response to the attack, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said yesterday, "We are fighting a multi front war: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the militias in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Houthies in Yemen, all the Iranian proxies, and Iran itself."
The Houthis have repeatedly attacked dozens of commercial ships in the Red Sea in an act of defiance against continued Israeli offensives in Gaza since Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack, which killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 hostages.
Following Hamas' attack, Israel launched numerous ground and air invasions of Gaza, killing 34,000 Palestinians and displacing over 2 million Palestinians, according to the AP.
On Saturday, the IDF strike reportedly hit storage facilities for oil and diesel in the port city of Hodeidah, according to reporting from the AP and Yemen state media. A large fire is reported to have broken out, with videos of tall flames and billowing black plumes circulating on social media.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted a video on X on Saturday afternoon in Hebrew responding to the Israeli strike and subsequent erupting fire. The English translation of his speech reads, "The fire that is now burning in Yemen is seen all over the Middle East, and it is understood that attacking Israel has a heavy price. The price that is paid in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and other places - is now being paid in Yemen. We are ready to act as necessary against any threat."
This is a developing story and will be updated with additional information.
Updated 7/20/24 at 1:42 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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