Nine people killed as Israel attacks Yemen's civilian ports and infrastructure

Israeli attacks on Yemen's capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah have killed at least nine people, according to Houthi-controlled media. 

These airstrikes have further escalated tensions in the region amid the ongoing conflict surrounding Gaza.

The Israeli military confirmed it carried out attacks on what it described as "military targets" in Yemen, including ports and energy infrastructure. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari claimed the air raid targeted Houthi positions after allegedly intercepting a missile fired towards Israel overnight.

"The targets attacked are used by the Houthi forces for their military operations," Hagari claimed in a statement.

The alleged missile fired by the Houthis toward Israel was destroyed before it could cause damage.

Al Masirah TV, the main news outlet controlled by the Houthis, reported that seven people were killed in an Israeli strike on the port of as-Salif in the western Hodeidah province, while the remaining casualties occurred in airstrikes on the Ras Isa oil facility.

The Israeli attacks also targeted power stations both south and north of Yemen's capital, Sanaa. Yemen's official SABA news agency reported additional raids on Hodeidah, including on the oil facility, which resulted in casualties among employees.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi political bureau, accused the US and Israel of hypocrisy.

"The US-Israeli bombing of civilian facilities in Yemen, such as power stations and ports, reveals the truth about the West’s hypocrisy and refutes all its humanitarian claims," al-Bukhaiti said.

He also reiterated the Houthis’ commitment to supporting Gaza, vowing that the airstrikes would not stop them. “We will meet escalation with escalation until the genocide crimes in Gaza stop and food, medicine, and fuel are allowed to enter its residents,” he said on the social media platform X.

Hussain al-Bukhaiti, a pro-Houthi political commentator, explained that the attacks were a direct response to Israel’s ongoing conflict with Gaza.

“Those attacks came as retaliation from Israel against Yemen because Yemen has been conducting on a weekly basis attacks either on Israel directly or on the Red Sea on any ship that is actually aiding the Zionist state of Israel,” he said.

The Houthis have been engaging in strikes against Israeli targets as part of their broader campaign to support Palestinians, who have been subjected to Tel Aviv's onslaught on Gaza, that has claimed more than 45,000 Palestinians lives —many of them women and children.

The Houthis insist they will not stop their campaign unless Israel halts its war on Gaza, lifts its illegal blockade, and withdraws from Gaza. "This is actually causing some damage against the Zionist state’s economy.

Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Tel Aviv's attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 3,000 people.

Additionally, Israel has been responsible for more than 144 armed attacks in Syria, resulting in over 260 deaths. In the aftermath of the Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria, Israel has recently stepped up its strikes and expanded its invasion and occupation of Syrian territory under the pretext of "self-defence."