Israel responds to Tel Aviv attack by striking Houthis in Yemen

Kathmandu: Israel has launched an air attack on the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Yemen. The attack came a day after a drone launched by the group hit Tel Aviv.

The BBC cited Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as saying his country aimed to send a message to the Houthi movement. Defence Minister Gallant said the Israeli jets had struck the group because they had harmed Israelis. Houthi-linked news outlets said three people were killed and more than 80 injured in the Israeli strikes.

Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam reported a “brutal Israel aggression against Yemen.” Abdulsalam said the strikes were aimed at pressuring the Houthis to stop supporting the Palestinians in Gaza. But he said that would not happen.

This is the first time Israel responded directly to what it says have been hundreds of Yemeni drone and missile attacks aimed at its territory in recent months.

Speaking on Saturday evening after the attacks, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would defend itself “by all means”. He claimed the port was an entry point for Iranian weapons.

An Israeli military official said an Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hit a block of flats in Tel Aviv on Friday. The UAV had been modified to fly a long distance.

Nepali version of the news