The Israeli Air Force on Thursday struck Houthi targets in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and along the country's west coast, according to a statement released by the Israel Defense Forces.
According to the army, the targets of the strikes included Sanaa International Airport; the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power plants, which according to the IDF provide the primary electrical infrastructure for the Houthis; and seaports in Hodeidah, al-Salif and Ras Kanatib.
"These military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials," the army said following the strikes,"This is a further example of the Houthis' exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes."
Israeli sources say that dozens of Israeli planes took part in the strikes, which caused the closure of the international airport in Sanaa. The sources said that Israel's message to the Houthis is that "if there won't be any departures at Ben-Gurion Airport [due to missiles], there won't be any departures from Yemen either."
Yemen's health ministry said the strikes killed at least three and wounded 17. According to local media in Yemen, six airstrikes targeted the capital's airport, as well as al-Dilmi air base and oil infrastructure.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, was at Sanaa airport during the strike. In a post on X, Ghebreyesus said the strikes took place as he was about to board a flight.
"At least two people were reported killed at the airport. The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged. We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz made the decision to conduct the strikes without consulting with the cabinet.
"We are determined to cut down the arm of terror belonging to Iran's axis of evil. We will continue until we complete the work," Netanyahu after the strikes. Katz added that Israel "will hunt down the Houthi leaders and harm them like we did in other places."
In the past week, four missiles were fired at Israel from Yemen. On Tuesday, a missile from Yemen was intercepted before it reached Israeli territory, according to the army. Alarms were activated in many communities in central and southern Israel.
A missile exploded in Jaffa, in central Israel, on Saturday, wounding 30 people, including children. The missile hit a playground next to residential buildings, causing a large crater several meters deep and extensive damage to dozens of apartments. The IDF reported at the time that attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Thursday night, parts of another missile exploded in the central city of Ramat Gan, causing significant damage to a school and cars. According to the IDF, the Arrow defense system partially intercepted the missile, and it was its warhead that hit the school and caused the damage.
In response to these attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz expressed their support for carrying out strikes on the Houthis in Yemen. A source involved in the discussions told Haaretz on Wednesday that Mossad Chief David Barnea believed it would be better to attack Iran. The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on the matter.
In recent days, there has been debate in Israel on how to deter the Houthis from continuing to fire on Israel, which, according to sources, has been conducted with acknowledgment that Israeli and American attacks in Yemen have failed to achieve this goal. On Wednesday, Netanyahu said, "the Houthis will also learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and others have learned – and even if it takes time, this lesson will be learned throughout the Middle East."
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel has attacked Yemen on several occasions. Last week, the IDF struck Houthi military targets deep within Yemen and on the country's western coast. According to the army, the attacks were on the seaports in Hodeidah and in the city of Sanaa, on power plants and fuel tanks used by the Houthis. The army said that 14 fighter jets participated in the strikes and that the air force had planned the operation for several weeks.