Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah on Tuesday evening, in what the Israeli military claimed was a response to “repeated Houthi attacks involving drones and rockets fired at Israel.”
The Israeli army alleged the strikes targeted “military infrastructure belonging to the Houthis” and accused the group of using the port to transfer Iranian weapons for operations against Israel and its allies in the region.
However, Yemeni outlet Al-Masirah reported that 12 Israeli strikes hit the port’s docks, damaging three piers that had only recently been rebuilt following earlier bombardments.
Two port officials confirmed to Reuters that the strikes severely damaged civilian infrastructure. Local residents said the bombardment lasted around ten minutes.
“The Houthi terrorist organization will continue to suffer blows and pay painful prices for any attempt to attack the State of Israel,” said Israeli defense minister Israel Katz in a post on X.
In response, spokesperson for the Yemeni military Yahya Saree stated on X that the group’s air defenses had “forced Israeli aircraft to retreat,” preventing them from encroaching deeper into the country.
Tuesday’s escalation follows an earlier attack in August attack on Hodeidah that killed 12 senior Yemeni officials, including Prime Minister Ahmed Al-Rahawi.
The Ansar Allah movement, often referred to as “the Houthis,” claimed responsibility last week for a drone strike targeting Israel’s Ramon Airport in Umm Al-Rashrash (Eilat) and a military site in the Naqab desert using four drones. The operation triggered air-raid sirens across southern Israel.
Yemeni ports have been repeatedly targeted in recent months by Israeli and US forces, in response to Yemeni naval actions in the Red Sea, and rocket attacks on Israeli territory.
In mid-May, Israel intensified its assault on Yemen with coordinated strikes on Hodeidah and As-Salif ports. Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz threatened to assassinate Ansar Allah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
Since Nov. 19, 2023, the Ansar Allah movement has launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on Israeli ports and Red Sea shipping routes in response to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The group has declared Israeli commercial and military vessels “legitimate targets.”
Ansar Allah operations temporarily halted after a Gaza ceasefire was reached in January 2025, but later resumed in March after Israel breached the truce, continuing its military offensive. The group said it would only stop its operations when Israel ends its genocide in Gaza, and allows humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians under siege in the enclave.
