SANA’A, YEMEN – Israeli military has launched a major wave of airstrikes on the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, marking a significant escalation in cross-border hostilities.
The strikes, which Israel describes as its “most powerful” to date in Yemen, come in direct retaliation for a Houthi drone attack on the Israeli resort city of Eilat.
According to a preliminary toll from the Houthi-run health ministry, the attacks on Sana’a killed at least eight people and wounded 142 others.
The ministry stated that civilian and service facilities were hit, and civil defence teams were working to rescue people trapped under rubble.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said dozens of its aircraft targeted what it identified as Houthi military assets, including the group’s General Staff command headquarters, security and intelligence compounds, and weapons storage camps.
A Cycle of Retaliation
This exchange is the latest in a series of attacks that have persisted for over a year, a dangerous spillover from the war in Gaza.
The Houthi movement, which controls northwestern Yemen, began attacking Israeli territory and international shipping in the Red Sea in 2023, stating its actions are in solidarity with Palestinians. Israel has responded with repeated airstrikes inside Yemen.
The immediate trigger for the latest Israeli operation was a Houthi drone strike a day earlier. On Wednesday, a drone launched from Yemen hit a hotel in Eilat, injuring at least 20 people, according to Israeli ambulance services.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed a forceful response, stating on social media following the Sana’a strikes, “We have now delivered a powerful strike on numerous terror targets of the Houthi terror organization in Sanaa”. He added that those who harm Israel would be “struck sevenfold”.
Conflicting Accounts of the Damage
Accounts of the damage in Sana’a deffer. Houthi-run media, such as Al-Masirah TV, reported that the strikes targeted residential neighbourhoods in the Ma’ain and Sabain districts, as well as the Dhahban power station.
A witness in the al-Raqas neighbourhood described a three-story residential building being hit, with rubble filling the street and ambulances rushing to the scene.
In contrast, the IDF emphasised that the strikes were aimed at military targets, including the Houthis’ “military public relations headquarters”.
The aftermath was captured in videos, showing large plumes of black smoke rising from multiple locations across the city.
The attack occurred moments before Al-Masirah TV began broadcasting a speech by Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, who used the platform to decry the war in Gaza.
A spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry, Dr. Anees al-Asbahi, condemned the strikes, accusing Israel of the “deliberate and systematic targeting of civilian, service, and residential facilities,” which he characterised as a war crime.
The IDF has stated it will “operate against the ongoing and repeated attacks” and conduct additional offensive operations against the Houthi regime in the future.
Sources: Reuters, The New York Times, BBC, Al Jazeera