Israeli warships strike Yemen’s Hodeidah Port
Tel Aviv’s violent attacks on Yemen’s ports and main airport have failed to stop Sanaa from continuing its operations
The Israeli navy launched an attack on Yemen’s western port of Hodeidah early on 10 June in response to several recent missile and drone attacks on Israel carried out by the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF).
A correspondent for Yemeni news outlet Al-Masirah TV said “the Israeli enemy targeted Hodeidah Port docks with two strikes.”
In a statement, the Israeli army said, “Navy missile ships attacked targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the port of Hodeidah in Yemen.”
“The attack was carried out in response to the Houthi terrorist regime's aggression against the State of Israel, in which surface-to-surface missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles were launched towards the country's territory and its citizens,” it added.
The army said the strikes were “intended to deepen the damage done to the military use of the port,” which it claimed “is used to transfer weapons.”
Tel Aviv had announced late on 9 June that it would bomb the ports of Salif, Ras Issa, and Hodeidah.
The three Yemeni ports, as well as the country’s main civilian airport, have come under heavy Israeli strikes several times since last month.
The attacks have failed to deter the YAF and Ansarallah movement from continuing their operations.
The YAF said on 5 June that it targeted Ben Gurion Airport with a ballistic missile in response to the massacres committed by Israel in Gaza and the recent Israeli strikes on Beirut.
Yemen’s targeting of the Tel Aviv airport in recent weeks has repeatedly brought air traffic to a halt and has forced several major airlines to suspend flights to Israel.
Following the most recent Israeli strike on Sanaa International Airport late last month, which destroyed the last of Yemenia Airways’ civilian planes, Yemeni President Mahdi al-Mashat warned Israel of a “hot summer.”
“The government of the filthy Netanyahu is unable to protect you, and the coming surprises are painful. To the Zionist herds: You should wait for a hot summer. I say to all companies that continue to arrive at the Ben Gurion Airport … that they are at risk at any moment. I call on all travelers around the world to avoid traveling with companies that continue to fly [there], as they are subject to our sanctions and are not safe,” he said.
Yemeni sources cited by Al-Akhbar newspaper on 30 May said that “upcoming operations will differ in quantity and quality from previous operations carried out deep inside the Israeli entity,” adding that the operations “will include Israeli civilian aircraft on the target list.”