Israel strikes Yemen's Sanaa airport in response to Houthi attack

Military says several targets hit in capital, including major power stations

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The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had attacked Houthi targets in Yemen, including the airport in Sanaa and several power stations in the area, in response to a missile attack on the main airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday.

The Israeli military said: “A short while ago, fighter jets struck and dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure at the main airport in Sanaa, fully disabling the airport.

“The strike was carried out in response to the attack launched by the Houthi terrorist regime against Ben Gurion Airport. Flight runways, aircraft, and infrastructure at the airport were struck.”

The Houthi-run Health Ministry said that three people were killed and 38 injured in the strikes.

The Houthi political bureau said that the Israeli “aggression will not pass without a response, and Yemen will not be discouraged from its stance in support of Gaza”.

Israel earlier warned residents near Sanaa airport area to leave.

“Urgent warning to all those present in the Sanaa International Airport area … We call on you to evacuate the airport area immediately and warn everyone present around you of the need to evacuate this area immediately,” the military's Arabic-language spokesman Lt Col Avichay Adraee said on X. “Failure to leave and stay away from the area puts you at risk.”

Israeli television showed thick black plumes of smoke rising above the skyline of Sanaa. Social media video purported to show several strikes, with more smoke rising as the thumps of the blasts echoed against the surrounding mountains.

Israeli air strikes in Yemen - in pictures

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  A handout picture released by the Huthi-affiliated branch of the Yemeni News Agency SABA on May 6, 2025, shows a burning airplane at Sanaa international airport after Israel's military warplanes struck Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa. Israel's military said its warplanes struck Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on May 6, "fully disabling the airport", the latest retaliation for a missile attack by the Iran-backed Huthis on Israel's main airport. (Photo by SABA / AFP) / == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / SABA" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ==

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  Destruction at Sanaa international airport. AFP

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  Destruction at the port in Yemen's city of Hodeida after Israel's military warplanes struck Yemen's rebel-held positions. AFP

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  Yemenis watch as smoke rises following Israeli air strikes that attacked a power station and Sanaa Airport, in Yemen, AP

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  Smoke on the horizon in Sanaa. The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had attacked Houthi targets in Yemen in response to a missile attack on Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday. AFP

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  Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes in Sanaa. Reuters

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  Clouds of smoke hang over buildings in Sanaa. EPA

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  Passengers look at the departures board at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv showing cancelled flights. AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following the strikes, “I have said many times that whoever attacks the State of Israel – let his blood be on his head.”

“Yesterday, I said that the attack by the Houthi will be answered not with 'a blow and we are done' – but with 'blows'. So, yesterday, we dealt a blow, a heavy blow to the port of Hodeidah. Today, our planes attacked the airport in Sanaa, the airport that enables the terrorist army and the air entry into the terrorist state, which enables the firing of missiles against us,” he said in a statement.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Iran would “bear the full consequences” for any attack by its Houthi allies.

“This is … a warning to the head of the Iranian octopus: You are directly responsible for any attack by the Houthi arm of the octopus against the State of Israel – and you will bear the full consequences,” Mr Katz said.

Ben Gurion attack

The Houthis on Sunday launched a missile that struck an access road near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. At least eight people were injured.

It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Israel’s main airport since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. While most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some have penetrated Israel’s missile defence systems, causing damage.

A Houthi missile landed near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, prompting some airlines to cancel flights. AP

In response to Sunday's attack, Israel attacked Yemen's port of Hodeidah on Monday.

The Houthi rebel group on Tuesday said four people were killed and 39 wounded in Monday's strikes on Hodeidah.

The Israeli army said in a statement that it had attacked Houthi “terrorist targets” in Hodeidah and its vicinity.

The Houthis shut down the area around the port and cement factory following the strikes, three sources said.

They said the extent of the damage at the port was unknown, but the intensity of the strikes and fire caused severe damage to the container berth.

The port is the second-largest in the Red Sea after Aden and is the entry point for about 80 per cent of Yemen's food imports.

Israel has repeatedly launched strikes against the rebels in Yemen. It struck Hodeidah and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv.

In September, Israel struck Hodeidah again, killing at least four people after a missile targeted Ben Gurion Airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeidah.

The Yemeni group resumed its attacks on Israel and shipping lanes following a brief suspension after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza ended.

The Houthis, who control Yemen, have been firing at Israel and shipping in the Red Sea since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians.

A Houthi source told The National that support for Gaza, Lebanon and Syria will continue, and the group will continue to impose a ban on Israeli air space.

“The solution lies with the Americans to force Israel to cease fire,” the source said, adding that “the strikes will not deter the Yemenis from their support for Gaza”.

“Israel cannot attack Yemen without air support from the American and British aggression forces,” the source said.