Israeli strike in Yemen a warning for the Iran-backed Houthi rebels to 'stay out of it'

Israel hits Red Sea port city a day after Iran-backed militia fired a missile at Israel

Smoke billows above Yemen's rebel-held Hodeidah port city following Israeli attacks. AFP

The Israeli military attacked Houthi rebels in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Sunday, Israel’s Minister of Defence said, marking the latest attack in an series of offensive Israeli operations.

The strike on the Red Sea port comes as Israel continues to bomb Lebanon and, according to one analyst, is likely to be a message to the Houthis to “stay out of it”.

“Israel is trying to say, you don't get any free shots. This has nothing to do with you,” said David Makovsky, director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The Israeli military said it struck the Houthis in Ras Isa and Hodeidah, where among the targets were a power plant and oil infrastructure.

“I followed the strike conducted against the Houthi terrorist organisation,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said. “Our message is clear – for us, no place is too far.”

The strikes come after the Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile at central Israel on Saturday. It was intercepted and shrapnel fell near Jerusalem.

At least eight people were injured in the strikes in Yemen, medical sources told The National.

The Houthis have repeatedly fired on international ships navigating the Red Sea, in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza in the wake of Israel’s military campaign following Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, when 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 taken hostage.

About 41,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since that day.

They Houthis have seized vessels and fired missiles at others, sowing fear among shipping companies and causing major disruptions to one of the world’s most important maritime routes.

The rebel group has attacked more than 80 ships since October. Several have been sunk and crew members have been killed in the attacks.

The US has struck several Houthi targets in an attempt to deter their actions in the Red Sea.

Yemen’s Vice President Aidarous Al Zubaidi told The National last week that the US deterrent strategy was not working.

“For now, we don't think that it has had a big effect on the Houthis,” he said.

Mr Al Zubaidi serves as Vice President of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council and the head of the Southern Transitional Council.

He said the situation required a larger, more co-ordinated international effort to deter the rebel group that controls Yemen’s capital, Sanaa and much of the country.

“If we want to have an immediate effect or a real deterrence on the Houthis, it should be a joined-up approach, a local approach, joined up with a regional approach and an international approach,” he said.