Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
The Israeli occupation army launched a series of intense air strikes on Yemeni ports controlled by the Houthi group, mainly targeting the ports of Hudaidah and Saleef in western Yemen, according to Hebrew media reports and local sources.
The sources reported that the strikes led to the destruction of “terrorist” infrastructure belonging to the Houthis, with thick plumes of smoke rising and ambulances and civil defense vehicles rushing towards the bombing sites.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the military operation was “just the beginning,” noting the targeting of two Houthi ports.
Netanyahu said: “We are not prepared to sit idly by and let the Houthis attack us. We will respond to them with greater force and target their leadership and all the infrastructure that enables them to harm us.”
For its part, the Israeli occupation army announced the destruction of “at least 10 targets” in the aforementioned ports, describing the operation as part of efforts to impose a “tight naval blockade” to prevent weapons from reaching the Houthis, in response to their threats to cut off maritime navigation towards Israel.
In response to the escalation, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that the Houthis’ continued firing of missiles would be met with “painful” strikes, stressing that the Israeli army was “inflicting severe damage on Houthi ports” and vowing to pursue the group’s leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, and “end his threats.”
The Hebrew Broadcasting Corporation quoted a security source as saying that the strategic goal of the raids is to disrupt the Houthis’ ability to impose a counter-maritime blockade, after months of their threats to target ships heading to Israel.
It is noteworthy that these strikes come days after Israeli warnings and a pause following US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region, but resumed immediately after the conclusion of that visit, which included Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
