Fears of escalation after Israel hits Houthi-held Yemen port second time in a month
Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen have come under repeated Israeli strikes since the Iran-backed rebels began launching missile and drone attacks on Israel, declaring they act in solidarity with Palestinians over the Gaza war.
In its latest raids, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel struck "targets of the Houthi terror regime at the port of Hodeida" and aimed to prevent any attempt to restore infrastructure previously hit.
The renewed strikes on Yemen are part of a year-long Israeli bombing campaign against the Houthis, but the latest threats have raised fears of a wider conflict in the poverty-stricken Arabian Peninsula country.
"Yemen's fate will be the same as Tehran's," Katz said.
His warning was a reference to the wave of suprise strikes Israel launched on Iran on June 13, targeting key military and nuclear facilities.
During the 12-day war, the United States carried out its own attacks on Iran's nuclear programme on June 22, striking facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.
A Gulf official told AFP there were "serious concerns in Riyadh... that the Israeli strikes on the Houthis could turn into a large, sustained campaign to oust the movement's leaders".
The Houthis withstood more a decade of war against a well-armed, Saudi-led international coalition, though fighting has died down in the past few years.
Any Israeli escalation could "plunge the region into utter chaos", said the official, requesting anonymity because he cannot brief the media.
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