Israel Strikes Yemeni Port City In Reply To Houthi Drone Attack

By Galit Altstein and Mohammed Hatem

Jul 20, 2024,(Bloomberg) –Israel struck targets around the Houthi-held Red Sea port of Hodeidah, retaliating for a drone attack on Tel Aviv by the Iran-backed militants that killed a man and exposed a vulnerability in Israeli air defenses.

The airstrikes targeted a power station and fuel storage sites, the Yemen-based group said. A Houthi-run television showed flames and smoke raging in installations it said were hit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the port was used as a gateway for Iranian weapons supplies to the Houthis.

“This operation struck targets 1,800 kilometers from our borders,” Netanyahu said in a video statement late Saturday. “It clarifies to our enemies that there is no place where the long arm of the State of Israel won’t reach.”

Mohammed Abdulsalam, a Houthi spokesman, said in a statement on X that the targets were civilian installations and that the group won’t stop attacking Israel and commercial ship traffic in the Red Sea. 

Israel’s attack was among the most complex and longest-distance missions in its air force’s history, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said. Israel carried out the strikes alone and gave its allies advance warning, another military official said.

President Joe Biden administration has been in regular contact with Israeli officials since the strike on Tel Aviv and fully recognizes Israel’s right to self-defense, a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council said. 

The IDF has said the projectile that struck Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial capital, was fired from Yemen in what would be the first deadly attack on the Jewish state by the Houthis. It was an Iranian-built Samad 3 drone repurposed to fly longer distances, according to the military.

One man was killed and eight people were injured in the attack at about 3 a.m. Israeli media showed footage of a low-flying drone coming into Tel Aviv from the west over the Mediterranean Sea.

“The first time that the Houthis harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement. “And we will do this in any place where it may be required.”

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Netanyahu is headed to Washington next week on his first trip outside Israel since its war against Hamas began in October. He’s scheduled to meet Biden on Monday and address Congress two days later.

Air Defenses

The Houthis said they used a new type of drone that’s difficult for radar to detect and vowed to target the city and other parts of Israel again, escalating a campaign that has focused for months on attacking Red Sea shipping that’s close to their home base in Yemen.

Israel’s military said the drone was detected by its defense systems and it’s investigating why it wasn’t shot down.

Dozens of drones, primarily those sent by Hezbollah, have evaded air defenses and caused casualties in Israel. The army is testing a laser-based system designed for small projectiles, though it won’t be ready before 2025.

The Houthis started targeting Israel with drones and missiles shortly after the war between Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza begin in October. None of those attacks are believed to have caused significant damage in Israel until now, with most projectiles being intercepted or failing to reach the country.

Houthi militants say they’re acting in solidarity with Palestinians and will continue the attacks until there’s a cease-fire in Gaza.

© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.