Israeli jets performed a strike on the Houthi-controlled port city of Al-Hudaydah in Yemen after the terrorist group claimed responsibility for a drone strike near the US Embassy in Tel Aviv on Friday.
According to the Times of Israel, Israeli fighter jets conducted strikes on the city in Yemen in control of the Houthis, a senior Israeli official told the outlet.
Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted a statement from an IDF spokesman in light of the strikes on the city in Yemen: "IDF fighter jets attacked military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the Hodeida port area in Yemen, in response to the hundreds of attacks against the State of Israel in recent months."
The drone strike on Friday in Tel Aviv left at least one person dead with at least 10 others with injuries. The strike resulted in large amounts of shrapnel and glass raining down over a large area. President Donald Trump had designated the Houthis as a terrorist organization, being backed by Iran, however, when President Biden took office, he was quick to remove the label from the Houthis.
The group has harassed commercial ships in the Red Sea for months, delaying shipments all over the world. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the strikes in a Saturday meeting early in the morning, according to Axios.
"This was a targeted operation at the port of Hodeida. We carried out the strike after many months of restraint in the face of Houthi attacks that included the firing of dozens of items, including surface-to-surface missiles," another Israeli official told the outlet. "Israel will act everywhere to protect its citizens and its sovereignty." The official added that the port has "terrorist infrastructure and [is] a legitimate military target” that is used by the Houthis to get weaponry.
"Israel has nothing against the citizens of Yemen. Israel does not want a regional war but will continue to protect its citizens from attacks. The attack by the Houthis on Tel Aviv crossed all the red lines and that is why we responded to it after nine months of restraint," the official added in a statement.
