US strikes targets in Yemen after Houthis claim attack on Tel Aviv airport

Houthi spokesman says American attacks are blatant violation of sovereignty and Yemen will defend itself

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

The US military said it carried out strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen's capital and coastal locations on Monday and Tuesday, as the rebel group claimed more attacks on Israel in support of Gaza.

“US Navy ships and aircraft targeted a Houthi command and control facility and advanced conventional weapon production and storage facilities that included missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles,” the US Central Command said in a statement.

It said the facilities had been used in Houthi operations against US interests such as Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

US Navy and Air Force aircraft also destroyed a Houthi coastal radar site along with seven cruise missiles and one-way attack UAVs on the Red Sea, Centcom added.

“There were no injuries or damage to US personnel or equipment in either incident,” it said. “The strikes are a part of Centcom efforts to degrade Iran-backed Houthi efforts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels.”

Earlier in the day, the Houthis' Al Masirah TV reported strikes on Sanaa, saying that sites in the districts of Al Thawra and Assafiyah were hit. A building struck in Assafiyah is said to house the Yemeni Defence Ministry.

Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdul Salam said “the US aggression on Yemen is a blatant violation of the sovereignty of an independent state, and a blatant support for Israel”. He added that Yemen would continue to defend itself and that its position on supporting Gaza is firm.

The Houthis on Tuesday said they had carried out two operations against Israel, attacking Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv with a hypersonic ballistic missile and a power station in southern Jerusalem using a ballistic missile, despite a warning by Israel at the UN aimed at the Iran-backed group.

The Houthi rebels also “targeted the American aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman with a large number of drones and cruise missiles while the American forces were preparing to launch a major air attack against our country”, the group's spokesman Yahya Saree said.

They said they had “completed raising the combat readiness of a number of military units to confront any US and Israeli threats”.

“The operations … will not stop until the aggression on Gaza is stopped and the siege is lifted,” the spokesman added.

Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon has warned the Houthis against continuing their attacks. AP

The Houthis say their attacks are in solidarity with Gaza, where Israel has been waging a military campaign since October last year. More than 45,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its war in the Palestinian territory, after Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage in raids on southern Israel.

Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon on Monday issued what he called a final warning to the Houthi militants to halt their missile attacks on Israel, saying they risked the same “miserable fate” as Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria's president Bashar Al Assad if they persisted.

Mr Danon also warned Tehran that Israel has the ability to strike any target in the Middle East, including in Iran. He added that Israel would not tolerate attacks by Iranian proxies.

Late on Monday, the Israeli military announced that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, prompting sirens to sound across the country. Mr Danon, addressing the UN Security Council, said that Israel would not tolerate further Houthi attacks. “To the Houthis, perhaps you have not been paying attention to what has happened to the Middle East over the past year,” he said.

“Well, allow me to remind you what has happened to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to Assad, to all those who have attempted to destroy us. Let this be your final warning. This is not a threat. It is a promise. You will share the same miserable fate,” he said.

Sources familiar with the rebels' plans have told The National that they are preparing for a long confrontation with Israel and the US, which would continue even if the current fighting stopped after a ceasefire is agreed in Gaza.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Houthis that Israel was “just getting started” following Israeli strikes on several targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including Sanaa airport, ports on the country's west coast and two power plants.

Israel killed the leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas, which led the October 7 attacks, and of its Iran-backed ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, and destroyed their military structure. Israeli attacks in Syria on Hezbollah, which was instrumental in propping up Mr Al Assad's government during a 13-year civil war, contributed to his overthrow by rebels in early December.