Houthi supporters gather in Sanaa on Friday to protest against Israel and the US. EPA
Houthi supporters gather in Sanaa on Friday to protest against Israel and the US. EPA
Houthi supporters gather in Sanaa on Friday to protest against Israel and the US. EPA
Houthi supporters gather in Sanaa on Friday to protest against Israel and the US. EPA

Israel launches strikes on Hodeidah port in Yemen, Houthi ministry says


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Israel attacked Hodeidah port in Yemen by air overnight, the Houthi Interior Ministry said, after the Israeli army told residents near three ports under rebel control to leave.

The ministry told news agency Reuters that Israel had attacked Hodeidah but the head of the Houthi-run state news agency Saba, Nasruddin Amer, denied any Israeli attacks took place.

The reported strikes came shortly after Israel warned residents of Ras Isa, Hodeidah and Salif to leave, saying the ports were being used by the Iranian-backed rebels.

There was no further comment from Israel.

The attack came a few days after a missile launched towards Israel by the Houthis was intercepted. A week ago, a missile hit near Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv in a rare failure of Israel's air defence systems. At least eight people were injured.

The Ben Gurion attack 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 beaten Israel’s aerial defence systems, causing damage.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.

Sunday's strikes on Hodeidah also come ahead of a visit this week to the Middle East by US President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump, who started an intensified military campaign against Houthi strongholds in Yemen in March, has agreed to an Oman-mediated ceasefire with the rebel group in recent days but the accord does not include Israel.

The US had been targeting Houthi assets in an attempt to stop the Iran-backed group attacking international shipping in the Red Sea, which the Houthis say they have been doing in solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza.

Mr Trump said the Houthis had agreed to stop interrupting the shipping lanes.

Last week, Israel launched about 50 bombs at the airport in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, disabling the facility and causing an estimated $500 million in damage.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes should be seen as a warning to the “head of the Iranian octopus”, which he said bears direct responsibility for attacks by the Houthis against Israel.

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

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The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage

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Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows

Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.

Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.

The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.

After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.

The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.

The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.

But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.

It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.

Updated: May 13, 2025, 7:53 AM