By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-12-19 03:36:36 | Updated at 2024-12-19 07:12:35
3 hours ago
A series of intense air strikes shook Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a port city early Thursday, shortly after a Houthi missile targeted central Israel.
It wasn’t immediately clear who launched the strikes on Sanaa, which the Iranian-backed Houthis have held for over a decade. The Houthis also reported strikes in Hodeida as well. But initial information on the targets of the attack and the timing suggested Israel may have conducted the assault.
Houthi-controlled media reported the strikes, but offered no immediate information on casualties nor damage. The Houthi-controlled satellite channel al-Masirah said that some of the strikes targeted power stations in the capital, as well as the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea.
Rebel-held Hodeida, some 145km (90 miles) southwest of Sanaa, has been key for food shipments into Yemen as its decadelong war has gone on. There’s also longstanding suspicion that weapons from Iran have been transferred through the port.
The strikes happened just after the Israeli military said its air force intercepted a missile launched from Yemen before it entered the country’s territory.
“Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling debris from the interception,” the Israeli military said. Sirens sounded near Tel Aviv and the surrounding areas, and a large explosion was heard overhead at the time.
