Israeli airstrikes kill six, injure 80 in first Yemen attack

Six people were killed and 80 were injured in Israeli airstrikes on the strategic port of Al-Hudaydah in Yemen, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing medical sources in the country. On Saturday, Israeli fighter jets bombed several targets in Yemen controlled by rebels, including the port of Al-Hudaydah on the Red Sea.

According to media controlled by the Houthis, the airstrikes were intense, causing a large fire at the port and widespread power outages.

The airstrikes were in response to Houthis' "hundreds of attacks" on Israel in recent months," the Israeli army said in a statement. Early Friday morning, a Houthi drone struck a residential building in Tel Aviv, killing one person and injuring 10.

The Iran-backed Houthis are one of the parties in Yemen's nearly 10-year civil war. They control the western part of the country, where half of its population lives. Following the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip in fall 2023,

The Houthis began attacking ships passing through the Red Sea, declaring that the attacks were acts of solidarity with Hamas and that their target was Israel and its trade exchanges.

The attacks disrupted navigation on one of the world's most important maritime trade routes. In response, Houthi targets have been bombed by U.S. and British forces since the beginning of the year.

Saudi media reported that the U.S. and British air forces also participated in Saturday's air raid. However, the Israeli portal Walla later denied this information, stating that it was solely an Israeli operation. The attack was the first air raid by Israeli aviation on targets in Yemen in history, added the Times of Israel portal.