Tel Aviv - The Israeli air force struck the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida in western Yemen on Saturday, the military and local media said, a day after a drone launched by the Iran-backed group struck Tel Aviv, killing an Israeli man.
In a statement, the Israeli military said: “Fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi regime in the area of the Hodeida Port in Yemen, in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the State of Israel in recent months.”
It marked the first time the Israel Defense Forces has conducted strikes in Yemen. The attack was named by the military “Operation Long Arm.” The IAF strike on the port was aimed at preventing the Houthis from importing Iranian weapons, as well as causing the Iran-backed rebels financial damage.
According to the Israeli military, the port in the Houthi-controlled city has been used repeatedly to bring in weapons from Iran, and therefore Israel saw it as a legitimate military target.
The airstrike targeted fuel depots, energy-related sites, and other facilities at the port. Images and video showed massive flames and smoke rising from the port.
Israel acted alone in the strike with no American military involvement. An Israeli military official said the United States had been updated ahead of the attack.
At least a dozen IAF aircraft, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, F-15 fighters, reconnaissance aircraft and refueling planes were involved in the attack — the latter of which was due to the target being some 1,700 kilometers (1,000 miles) from Israel.
Footage taken by beachgoers in the southernmost city of Eilat showed the Israeli aircraft making its way toward Yemen on Saturday afternoon. “This is a complex attack, one of the farthest and longest carried out by the Israeli Air Force. It required careful planning and preparation for a variety of possible threats in the area,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press conference.
Israel had threatened a response to the deadly drone attack on Tel Aviv early Friday, which killed Yevgeny Ferder, 50. The Iranian-made drone launched by the Houthis was not intercepted by air defenses due to a “human error,” the military said.
On Saturday morning, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a meeting with senior military officials, during which the strike on the port of Hodeida was approved.
Later in the day, Israel’s security cabinet was convened to also approve the attack. The meeting lasted hours, and the ministers were still gathered when the strike was being carried out at around 6 p.m.
According to the IDF, Yemen’s Houthis in the past nine months have fired over 220 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at Israel — mostly toward the southernmost city of Eilat — in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where Israel is battling Hamas.