The Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes against Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen on Thursday, signaling the beginning of what Israeli officials describe as a new and intensified military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The strikes, which coincided with a speech by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, are reported to have caused significant damage to the airport’s control tower and hit the Ras Katheib power station.

The IDF took responsibility a short while later, and issued the following statement:

A short while ago, following the approval of operational plans by the Chief of the General Staff, the Minister of Defense, and the Prime Minister, IAF fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen. The Houthi terrorist regime has repeatedly attacked the State of Israel and its citizens, including in UAV and surface-to-surface missile attacks on Israeli territory.

The targets that were struck by the IDF include military infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities in both the Sana’a International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations. In addition, the IDF struck military infrastructure in the Al-Hudaydah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports on the western coast.

These military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. This is a further example of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes.

The Houthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror, and their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world. The Houthi terrorist regime operates as an autonomous terrorist group while relying on Iranian cooperation and funding to carry out its attacks.

The IDF will not hesitate to operate at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)