Israel performed its first attacks against the Houthis in Yemen since the ceasefire with Iran last month. The offensive reached ports and a power plant around midnight, local time, Sunday (6) and the morning of Monday (7).
The action was taken after at least three Ballistic missiles Houthis were launched against Israel, according to the Israeli’s FDI (Defense Forces), including one that was intercepted on Saturday (5).
The Houthis, a rebel group supported by Iran, also claimed responsibility for an attack on the Red Sea Magic Seas on Sunday, the first of the type in months.
in the Red Sea. The FDI also attacked the Galaxy Leader, a freighter ship captured by the Houthis in November 2023.
“Houthi forces have installed a radar system on the ship and have used it to track vessels in the international sea arena to facilitate future terrorist activities,” the military claimed.
Just before the wave of attacks, FDI Arab spokesman Avichay Adraee issued an unoccupied warning to the ports and the plant.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the attacks were part of the new Black Flag operation.
“The Houthis will continue to pay a high price for their actions,” the minister said on social networks, promising that more attacks would occur if Houthis continued to launch drones and ballistic missiles against Israel.
The Houthis confirmed the attacks, but said “Iemenites air defenses effectively confronted Israeli aggression” using “a large locally made land-made missile dam.”
There were no immediate reports of victims.
Conflict between Houthis and Israel
Mohammed al Farah, a member of the Humuthi Political Cabinet, said that attacking ports, power plants and other “civil facilities” Yemeni is an attempt to harm civilians and has no connection with any military activity, according to TV Al-Masirah, run by the rebel group.
Since the beginning of the Israeli War against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, Israel has been attacked with missiles and rockets by Hezbollah, Lebanon, and Houthis of Yemen,
On Sunday, the Houthis attacked the Magic Seas ship, punctuating that its owner had used Israeli ports.
The rebels reported that they attacked the vessel with unmanned boats, missiles and drones, and that it had already sunk. They warned that they will attack ships that use ports in Israel, which describe as “busy Palestine.”
The ship’s operator Stem Shipping told Reuters that Magic Seas had already made scales in Israel in the past, but that this passage in the region seemed low risk, as it had nothing to do with the country.
The crew of 19 people from Magic Seas left the ship on Sunday and was transferred to another vessel to Djibuti.
In May, the Houthis agreed to stop attacks on US War ships in the Red Sea after more than a month of US air attacks against their strongholds and missile infrastructure.
However, they did not commit to ending the attacks on other ships with suspicions of calls with Israel and continued to shoot Ballistic missiles against Israel in support of the Palestinian population in Gaza.
