IAF Jets Bomb Houthi Military Sites in Yemen

The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes against Houthi military sites in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, in response to the Iran-backed group’s repeated attacks on Israel, including a drone attack on Eilat a day prior.

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck seven targets belonging to the Houthis’ “security and intelligence apparatus” and army, including a top military headquarters. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the “powerful” strikes killed “many dozens of Houthi terror operatives, and destroyed stockpiles of UAVs and weaponry.”

Hours later, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile that set off sirens across central Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of people to bomb shelters.

The military said it successfully intercepted the missile. There were no immediate reports of impacts or injuries.

The Houthis’ Al-Masirah television reported that the “Israeli aggression” on Sanaa came moments before it began broadcasting a weekly pre-recorded speech by the terror group’s leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

The Houthis said the strikes killed at least eight people and wounded more than 140.

The Houthis had launched an explosive-laden drone that evaded Israeli air defenses and struck the resort city of Eilat in the south, wounding 22 people, including two men in serious condition. Israel vowed to respond to the attack, claimed by the Iran-backed group.

According to the military, dozens of Israeli Air Force aircraft, including some 20 fighter jets, along with spy planes and refuelers, participated in the strikes.

The strikes marked the 19th time that Israel has attacked the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. Most of the strikes have been carried out by Israeli Air Force fighter jets and drones, though some have been conducted by Israeli Navy missile boats.

The 20 fighter jets dropped more than 65 munitions on the seven Houthi targets, marking the highest number of munitions used in a single IAF strike in Yemen, according to the military.

Aerial refueling was also conducted during the operation, during which the fighter jets flew approximately 1,367 miles to reach their targets in Sanaa.

In all, seven targets were struck, including five military headquarters where Houthi operatives were gathered, and two weapon storage facilities, the IDF said.

In a statement, the military said that the targets included a headquarters of the Houthis’ general staff; compounds belonging to security and intelligence apparatus; the headquarters of the Houthis’ propaganda department; and other military camps where weapons were stored and operatives were gathered.

The IDF said the Houthis’ security and intelligence apparatus “takes part in terror activities and directly contributes to military actions against the State of Israel that undermine stability in the Middle East” and is “also involved in repressing regime opponents through the use of political prisons and torture.”

The military camps that were struck “are used by the Houthi terror regime to store weapons and to plan and carry out terror attacks against the State of Israel,” the IDF added.

The IDF also vowed to “conduct additional offensive operations” against the Houthis “in the near future,” adding that it “remains determined to remove any threat posed to the civilians of the State of Israel, at whatever distance is required.”