Israel strikes Yemen’s Sanaa airport, destroys aircraft, disables it

SANAA,— Israel’s military confirmed Tuesday that it carried out airstrikes on Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, including an attack that fully disabled the country’s international airport in the capital, Sanaa. The military also targeted several power plants during the assault.

Video footage shared on social media and broadcast by television stations showed that the strikes targeted several airplanes, including civilian aircraft, as well as the airport’s departures hall, runway, and a military air base under Houthi control.

The attacks caused significant damage, further deteriorating Yemen’s already fragile infrastructure.

This latest round of airstrikes marks the second in as many days. It came in retaliation for a missile strike launched by the Houthis on Israel’s international airport the previous day.

According to Houthi-controlled media, the group’s satellite news channel, al-Masirah, confirmed that Sanaa’s airport had been hit by Israeli airstrikes.

The attack caused significant damage to the facility. Israeli television aired footage showing dark plumes of smoke rising from the city’s skyline. Videos circulating on social media also showed explosions in various locations across Sanaa, with black smoke billowing into the air and reverberating blasts echoing off nearby mountains.

As of now, there have been no immediate reports on casualties from the airstrikes.

Shortly before the Tuesday attack, Israel’s military issued a warning on social media urging residents to evacuate the area surrounding Yemen’s international airport.

Military spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on social media: “We urge you to immediately evacuate the area of the airport and to warn anyone nearby to distance themselves immediately. Failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.” The warning was accompanied by a map of Sanaa’s airport.

This came a day after Israel conducted another strike on Monday night targeting Houthi positions in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeida. The strikes killed at least one person and wounded 35 others, according to Houthi media reports.

At least six strikes hit the vital Hodeida port, with additional attacks targeting a cement factory in the nearby district of Bajil, located 55 kilometers (34 miles) northeast of Hodeida. The Houthi-run Health Ministry reported that at least four people were killed and 39 injured in the strikes.

The Houthi missile strike on Sunday, which targeted an access road near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, marked the first such attack on the airport grounds since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

The missile briefly disrupted air traffic and caused injuries to four individuals. While many of the missiles fired by the Houthis have been intercepted by Israel’s defense systems, some have managed to penetrate the defenses, causing damage.

The Houthis have been increasingly targeting Israel in solidarity with Islamist Hamas group and Arab residents in the Gaza Strip, gaining prominence as the latest member of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” to carry out regular missile and drone attacks on Israel.

(With files from AP | Reuters | Agencies)