Israeli army strikes Yemen ports after ship attack in Red Sea
The Yemeni port city of Hodeidah was struck along with the ports of Ras Isa and Salif and the Ras Al Kathib power station, according to the Houthi-run Al Masirah television station.
The Israeli army said that it 'struck and destroyed terror infrastructure belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime'.
'Among the targets were the ports of Hodeida, Ras Isa, and Salif,' it said.
It was the Israeli army's first attack on Yemen in about a month.
The army also attacked the Galaxy Leader ship docked at Ras Isa port, which was seized by the Houthis in late 2023, it added.
'The Houthi terrorist regime's forces installed a radar system on the ship, and are using it to track vessels in international maritime space, in order to promote the Houthi terrorist regime's activities,' it said.
Shortly after Israel's attacks, two missiles were launched from Yemen towards Israel, the army said on Telegram, adding that it was working to intercept them.
The strikes came about half an hour after an Israeli army spokesman warned on social media of its attacks.
They also came hours after a vessel was attacked in the Red Sea on Sunday by several small boats that opened fire on it including with grenades, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations.
A fire broke out on the Liberian-flagged vessel Magic Seas and the crew were forced to abandon ship, the UKMTO said on social media. A passing merchant vessel rescued all crew members, while the ship remains abandoned.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but security firm Ambrey said the vessel fit the typical profile of a Houthi target.
Israel has carried out several strikes in Yemen over recent months in response to missile attacks by the Houthis.
The Houthis have been launching missiles and drones at Israel since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023. The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.
The group have also attacked shipping vessels they deem to be linked to Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023.
They broadened their campaign to target ships tied to the US and Britain after the two countries began military strikes aimed at securing the waterway in January last year.
But in May this year, the Houthis reached a ceasefire with the US that ended weeks of intense American strikes against the group. US President Donald Trump said the rebels had 'capitulated'. Israel was not included in the truce.
The Houthis pledged last month to resume attacks in the region after the US entered the Israel-Iran war with strikes on Iranian nuclear targets. Yemeni security sources told The National in June that the rebels were considering renewed attacks on US targets around the Middle East and increasing attacks on Israel in support of Tehran.
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Yet despite every effort to suffocate the pro-Palestine movement - police vans, proscription orders, media blackouts - it is only growing. A long-suppressed BBC documentary on Palestinian medics, which the broadcaster delayed and ultimately dropped, was finally aired by Channel 4. It showed in harrowing detail the systematic targeting of doctors and hospitals by Israeli forces. As commentator Gary Lineker said: 'The BBC should hang its head in shame.' The people are already ahead of their leaders. And sooner or later, the leaders will follow - whether they want to or not Meanwhile, Haaretz, Israel's own paper of record, published testimonies from Israeli soldiers describing how they were ordered to shoot starving Palestinians gathered for food. Not militants - children, parents, civilians. The body count in Gaza now exceeds 56,000. And Britain is arresting the people trying to stop it. But the tide is turning. Public opinion is not just shifting; it is collapsing around the western establishment. In the UK, net favourability towards Israel is now at -46. Nearly half of Britons believe Israel is committing genocide, while a majority support the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Across Europe, it's the same, with net favourability towards Israel at -44 in Germany, -48 in France, -54 in Denmark, -52 in Italy and -55 in Spain. In the US, the shift is also stark. A Pew poll conducted in March found that 53 percent of Americans now view Israel unfavourably, a rise of more than 10 percentage points from three years ago. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that four in 10 Americans now believe Israel's problems are 'none of our business.' Unstoppable shift The battle to liberate Palestine is no longer being fought solely in Gaza or the occupied West Bank. It is being waged just as critically in the heart of the western world: between an increasingly awakened public and an establishment determined to suppress it. The Israeli project is not a self-contained national affair. It is, at its core, a western colonial enterprise. And the last two years have exposed how deeply its survival depends on the political and military sponsorship of western governments - above all, the United States. This is why the frontline now runs through London, Paris, Berlin and Washington - through parliaments, universities, media outlets and courtrooms. It is a battle for moral authority, a contest between power and truth. And its outcome will shape the fate of Palestine. But history teaches us something else too: that the most transformative struggles - from the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage, to the civil rights movement - were won not because the powerful saw the light, but because the public made them feel the heat. And that public pressure, relentless and sustained, forced open doors long held shut. So it will be with Palestine. The people are already ahead of their leaders. And sooner or later, the leaders will follow - whether they want to or not. Public opinion will, in time, impose its will on those in power. It may take years. It may come slowly. But this shift is already underway, and it is unstoppable. History is watching. And when Palestine is finally free - as it will be - the names remembered won't be those who armed Israel with bombs. It will be the ones they tried to silence. The ones they arrested. The ones who marched. The ones who healed. The ones like Reverend Sue Parfitt, who smiled as they took her away. The ones like Baroness Jenny Jones, who refused to betray what justice means. We will remember who stood on the side of freedom - and who stood in its way. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
