In response to recent missile and drone attacks on Israel by the Houthi terror group, Israeli fighter jets on Friday struck terrorist targets across Yemen. “A short while ago, with the direction of the IDF Intelligence Directorate and the Israeli Navy, IAF fighter jets struck military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen,” the Israeli military said in a statement Friday afternoon.
An array of IDF warplanes took part in one of the biggest Israeli retaliatory airstrikes since Iran-backed Houthis declared war on the Jewish state after the October 7 massacre. “The Israeli Air Force strike on the Houthis in Yemen involved over 20 aircraft, including fighter jets, refuelers and spy planes,” The Times of Israel reported, citing military sources.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) targeted two Houthi-held ports, a power station, and several terrorist sites. “The targets that were struck include military infrastructure sites in the Hizaz power station, which serves as a central source of energy for the Houthi terrorist regime in its military activities,” the IDF revealed.”In addition, the IDF struck military infrastructure in the Al Hudaydah, and Ras Isa ports on the western coast. The targets struck are examples of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for its terrorist activities.”
Friday’s strike was coordinated with the U.S. and Britain. Since October 7, 2023, the Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly attacked U.S., UK, and Western-owned ships in an effort to impose an illegal embargo on Israel. The Houthi’s “attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world,” the IDF said in the statement.
The IDF-led aerial operation was “largest coordinated Israeli-US-British attack on the Houthis since the start of the war,” the Jerusalem Post reported:
Israel’s air force, in coordination with the United States and Britain, conducted airstrikes targeting a Houthi power station and two ports used by the Iran-backed terror group, the military confirmed on Friday.The targets included military infrastructure sites at Hezyaz power station, and military infrastructure in the Hodeidah and Ras Issa ports on the Western coast.An informed source told The Jerusalem Post, that during US Central Command (CENTCOM) deputy commander Brad Cooper’s most recent visit to Israel, it was discussed that Jerusalem and Washington would coordinate efforts in handling the Houthi threat.Another source confirmed the strike was coordinated with the American-British coalition, which attacked certain targets – and at the same time, Israel attacked other targets. There was no cooperation in the attack on the targets themselves, but each party struck different targets. The attacks were the largest coordinated Israeli-US-British attack on the Houthis since the start of the war. More than 20 Israeli aircraft partook in the strikes, with around 50 munitions being dropped on terror targets in Yemen, Israeli media reported.Airstrikes on Yemen’s port of Ras Issa on Friday targeted oil storage facilities in the vicinity of the shipping berths, and no merchant vessels were reported to have been damaged, British security firm Ambrey said.According to the source, the “work” will be “split” between Israel and the coalition is relatively clear. The coalition will allegedly attack weapons facilities, control and command bases, and underground places, while Israel strikes the Houthi’s economic facilities – which have military and civilian use such as ports, airports, power plants, etc.
Following the October 7 attack, Iran-sponsored Houthis declared war on Israel, firing hundreds of missiles and drones at a country 1,000 miles away from their border. “Israel’s military says about 400 missiles and drones have since been launched at the country from Yemen, most of which have been intercepted,” The BBC noted on December 19.
After the IDF’s dismantling of the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon and the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the Houthi jihadist regime is now a leading player in Iran’s axis of terror. “The Houthi terrorist regime has repeatedly attacked the State of Israel, its citizens, and civilian infrastructure in Israel, including UAVs and surface-to-surface missiles,” the IDF declared. “The State of Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself.”
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