Israeli attacks on Yemen’s capital have killed at least seven people, according to Houthi rebels.
They said two days of attacks, which the Israeli military said had disabled the airport in Sanaa, wounded 74 others.
Israel said the rare daytime attack on Sanaa, held by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels since 2014, left commercial aircraft burning on the tarmac as its fighter jets struck power plants and other targets.
The airstrikes came in response to a Houthi ballistic missile striking the grounds of Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
Israel’s military had warned on social media that people should leave the area immediately, saying that “failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives”.
The explosions from the strikes echoed across Sanaa, sending the public fleeing to find cover as thick black smoke rose over the skyline.
The Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel aired footage from the airport, showing its terminal’s windows blown out with concrete blocks exposed and a fire burning inside. On its runway, aircraft associated with the state carrier Yemenia burned.
The airline later said three of its planes had been “taken out of service” in the attack, although those abroad in Jordan were untouched. The Israeli strike came after a flight to Amman on Tuesday took off.
Other strikes hit a cement plant and power plants, the Houthis and Israelis both said.
On Monday, Israel targeted Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeida, hitting a key port and another cement factory.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said the strike should be seen as a warning to the “head of the Iranian octopus”, which he said bears direct responsibility for attacks by the Houthis against Israel.
The Israeli airstrikes involved some 50 bombs and “dozens” of aircraft, the Israeli military said.
It also required mid-air refuelling to reach Sanaa, showing their reach also to Iran as Israel has threatened to strike Tehran’s nuclear enrichment sites.
Sunday’s missile attack by the Houthis struck an access road near Israel’s main airport near Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were slightly injured.
It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Ben-Gurion airport since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. While most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some missiles and drones have penetrated Israel’s air defences.
The UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said the latest strikes carried out on Israel and Yemen’s airport marked a “grave escalation in an already fragile and volatile regional context”. He urged the parties to show restraint.
The future of American attacks on the Houthis, who have pledged to continue to target Israel, was thrown into question after US president Donald Trump said US forces would stop striking the Houthis.
He described the rebels as having “capitulated” and agreed to stop targeting shipping in the Red Sea, although the rebels did not specifically acknowledge such a pledge.
Mr Trump is due to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week.
“We indirectly informed the Americans that the continued escalation will affect the criminal Trump’s visit to the region, and we have not informed them of anything else,” said Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi’s supreme political council, in a statement carried by the rebel-controlled SABA news agency early on Wednesday. - AP
