Israel unleashes series of airstrikes on Yemen's airport, power plants in powerful show of force
The Israeli military struck Yemen's capital on Tuesday with a series of airstrikes aimed at the Houthi rebels, disabling the country's international airport and several power plants.
Images of Israel's latest strike showed black plumes of smoke rising above the skyline in the Houthi-controlled capital, where the Iran-backed terror group has held regular demonstrations against the Jewish state and America over the war in Gaza.
The smoke and blasts led officials at the Sanaa International Airport to issue a facility-wide evacuation.
'We urge you to immediately evacuate the area of the airport and to warn anyone nearby to distance themselves immediately,' spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on social media, attaching a map of Sanaa International Airport. 'Failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.'
The Israel Defense Forces said the airport was targeted for its alleged use as a Houthi facility to transfer its 'weapons and operatives.'
Along with shutting down the airport, the IDF said the airstrikes destroyed several power stations near Sanaa that were allegedly used by the Houthis, along with a cement factory just north of the capital.
Yemenis watch as smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes targeting a power plant and Sanaa Airport, in Yemen. Picture: AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman
There is no immediate information on any casualties.
The airstrikes came following Monday's attacks along the Yemen coast and served as further retaliation for a Houthi missile strike over the weekend that injured four people near the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu had warned that swift and repeated strikes would be coming for the Houthis following the attack on the Tel Aviv airport.
Monday's attack saw nearly two dozen Israeli Air Force fighter jets drop 50 munitions on the port of Hodeidah and a concrete factory in the nearby city of Bajil, the IDF said.
The strikes killed at least one five people and wounded another 74, according to the Houthi-run Ministry of Health.
Like with Tuesday's strikes, the IDF said the targets were Houthi strongholds that helped the terror group profit and transport their weapons.
Israel's consecutive attacks against Yemen are the Jewish state's first in nearly four months following a joint strike with US and British forces in January.
The conflict in Yemen started shortly after Israel began its ground operation in Gaza in November 2023, with the rebel group launching attacks on military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea as a show of support for Hamas.
The attacks have disrupted the major shipping route, with President Trump launching his own intensified airstrike campaign on the Houthis since March 15.
With Post wires
Originally published as Israel unleashes series of airstrikes on Yemen's airport, power plants in powerful show of force
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"He may be a very bad preacher," he said. "That doesn't mean what he's saying about Islam doesn't fall within (the protections for freedom of religious expression)." The preacher confined his comments outside court to an exhortation to "Free Palestine" and an assurance he would respect the court ruling when it is handed down. Mr Wertheim and Mr Goot are seeking the removal of the published speeches, a public corrective notice and an order restraining Mr Haddad making similar comments in future. Mr Goot said outside court the measures sought against Mr Haddad did not seek to interfere with his freedom of speech except in a "very confined" manner. "What Mr Haddad said and did in the series of speeches he made was utterly unacceptable, un-Australian and - we hope the court will find - unlawful," he said. His barrister told the court the preacher had a pattern of offensive conduct towards other religious groups and had not apologised for the speeches. But the Sydney-based Al Madina Dawah Centre cleric said during the hearing he "never set out to insult Jews". Mr Boe argued the allegedly racist lectures were selectively edited and would not have been seen by Jewish people if not reported in the media. Mr Haddad's speeches were delivered during a time of heightened sensitivity after Palestinian terror group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The reporting of the event prompted queries and concerns from Mr Haddad's congregants and at the same time left Jewish Australians feeling unsafe, the court was told.
