Houthis strike Israeli sites in retaliation for Hodeida attack, vow escalation
According to a statement by Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the operation targeted five Israeli locations, including Ben Gurion Airport, Ramon Airport, and the port of Umm al-Rashrash, using five drones. Saree claimed the strikes achieved their objectives 'successfully, by the grace of God.'
بيان القوات المسلحة اليمنية بشأن تنفيذ عملية عسكرية نوعية استهدفت خمسة أهداف للعدو الصهيوني في فلسطين المحتلة منها مطارا اللد ورامون وميناء أم الرشراش، وذلك بخمس طائرات مسيرة وقد حققت العملية أهدافها بنجاح بفضل الله.
بتاريخ21_7_2025م pic.twitter.com/QCox2Bs8WC — العميد يحيى سريع (@army21yemen) July 21, 2025
The spokesperson described the operation as both a response to what he called 'Israeli aggression on Yemen' and a contribution to the wider resistance in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
Saree further warned that attacks would intensify if Israeli military actions against Yemen continue or if the blockade on Gaza is not lifted. He stressed that these strikes are part of a broader deterrence strategy.
The escalation comes just hours after the Israeli military announced it had conducted airstrikes on the Red Sea port city of Hodeida.
According to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, the strikes were aimed at dismantling 'terror infrastructure' used by the Houthi forces and to prevent any attempt to rebuild previously destroyed military assets.
The Israeli military stated it had hit military infrastructure and naval vessels used by the Houthis, reinforcing what it described as a firm policy to curb regional threats emanating from Yemen.
This latest exchange marks a significant intensification of the cross-regional conflict, linking the ongoing war in Gaza to retaliatory operations by actors across the Middle East, including the Houthis in Yemen, who have increasingly positioned themselves as part of a broader axis resisting western-backed Israeli military actions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Jordan Times
3 hours ago
- Jordan Times
Israeli settlers attack West Bank Christian village
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank overnight, torching cars and spray-painting threatening graffiti, a witness and the Palestinian Authority said Monday. Jeries Azar, a Taybeh resident and journalist for Palestine TV, told AFP his house and car were targeted in the pre-dawn assault. "I looked outside and saw my car on fire, and they were throwing something at the vehicle and in the direction of the house," Azar said. The Palestinian Authority issued a statement blaming "Israeli colonial settlers" for the attack on Taybeh. Azar said he was terrified and put himself in the shoes of the Dawabsheh family, a couple who burned to death with their baby after settlers attacked their West Bank village of Duma in 2015. "My greatest fear was for my two-year-old son. After we escaped, he cried nonstop for an hour", Azar said, adding that the Israeli army had surveyed the area after the attack. Israeli occupation authorities said in a joint statement that a unit was dispatched to Taybeh and reported "two burned Palestinian vehicles and graffiti". The statement said that no suspects were apprehended but that Israeli police have launched an investigation. A photo shared by a Palestinian government agency on social media showed graffiti on a Taybeh wall that read: "Al Mughayyir, you will regret", referring to a nearby village that was also attacked by settlers earlier this year. The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry condemned the attack, calling it "settler terrorism". Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also condemned the action, writing on X: "These extremist settlers may claim that God gave them the land. But they are nothing but criminals abhorrent to any faith". Taybeh and its surroundings have experienced several bouts of settler violence in recent months, including an arson attack at an ancient Byzantine church. The village -- home to about 1,300 mostly Christian Palestinians, many holding US dual citizenship -- is known for its brewery, the oldest in the Palestinian territories. Settlers have attacked neighbouring communities in recent months, resulting in three deaths, damage to Palestinian water wells and the displacement of at least one rural herding community. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The territory is home to about three million Palestinians and around 700,000 Israeli settlers, including about 200,000 in east Jerusalem. Last week, 71 members of Israel's 120-seat parliament, or Knesset, passed a motion calling on the government to annex the West Bank.
Jordan Times
3 hours ago
- Jordan Times
EU proposes halting Israel access to start-up funds over Gaza war
BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Commission on Monday proposed suspending Israel's access to EU funding for tech start-ups, as pressure increases over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. The move by Brussels comes as a string of EU countries push for concrete steps against Israel in the face of growing fears of mass starvation in the war-ravaged territory. "While Israel has announced a daily humanitarian pause in Gaza fighting... the situation remains severe," the European Commission said in a statement. "The proposed suspension is a targeted and reversible action," it said. The suggestion to partially suspend Israel's involvement in the mammoth Horizon research programme will be discussed by the EU's 27 countries on Tuesday. It would need the approval of the majority of member states to go into force. The bloc has struggled to take action over the conflict in Gaza as it is split between staunch supporters of Israel and those more favourable to the Palestinians. The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas this month put forward a raft of options to punish Israel after it was found guilty of breaching a cooperation deal with the EU on human rights grounds. Brussels also said it had struck a deal with Israel to increase aid access to Gaza. While the EU says Israel has taken steps to implement some of the promises on stepping up aid, it still has to do much more. Partially suspending Horizon accesss is one of the more limited moves that Brussels could take. But diplomats and officials say the move is a first step to signal to Israel that the bloc is willing to take action unless the situation in Gaza improves. Brussels said the proposal would mean halting access to funding for Israeli start-ups involved in fields including drone technology, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. In 2024, Israel was in the top three countries for the number of companies vying for funding along with Germany and France. With Gaza's population of more than two million facing famine and malnutrition, Israel bowed to international pressure at the weekend and announced a daily "tactical pause" in fighting in some areas. Truckloads of food reached hungry Gazans on Monday after Israel promised to open secure aid routes, but humanitarian agencies warned vast amounts more were needed to stave off starvation.
Jordan Times
3 hours ago
- Jordan Times
Safadi says recognition of Palestinian State ‘urgent necessity', prerequisite to achieving lasting peace
AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi on Monday emphasised that recognition of a Palestinian state has become an 'urgent and indispensable requirement' for achieving lasting peace in the region. Speaking at the opening session of the high-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the two-State Solution, Safadi reaffirmed that the two-state solution remains the only viable path to a just and comprehensive peace. 'All participants at the conference are united in their commitment to a fair and lasting resolution for the Palestinian people,' Safadi said, stressing that international recognition of a Palestinian state is 'no longer optional but essential.' He noted that the Palestinian leadership has expressed a clear willingness to engage in negotiations based on the two-state framework, but Israel has shown no corresponding commitment. He warned that continued Israeli actions in the occupied Palestinian territories are jeopardizing peace efforts and fueling further instability. 'The ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza cannot be allowed to persist,' Safadi added, calling for immediate and effective international intervention to end the suffering. He reiterating that the two-state solution remains the only path forward and Israel is the 'primary obstacle to its realisation.' France told the UN conference, co-chaired with Saudi Arabia Monday, that there is "no alternative" to a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians. The conference was boycotted by Israel and branded a stunt by Washington. "Only a political, two-state solution will help respond to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. There is no alternative," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said at the start of the three-day meeting. Days before the conference, French President Emmanuel Macron announced he would formally recognise Palestinian statehood in September, provoking strong opposition from Israel and the United States. Barrot said that other Western countries will confirm their intention to recognize the state of Palestine during the conference, without confirming which. "All states have a responsibility to act now," said Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Mustafa at the start of the meeting, calling for an international force to help underwrite Palestinian statehood. "Recognise the state of Palestine without delay." France is hoping Britain will follow its lead. More than 200 British members of parliament on Friday voiced support for the idea, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that recognition of a Palestinian state "must be part of a wider plan." United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the meeting "the two-state solution is farther than ever before." According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states now recognize the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988. In 1947, a UN General Assembly resolution decided to partition Palestine, then under a British mandate, into Jewish and Arab states. Israel was proclaimed in 1948. For decades, most UN members have supported a two-state solution with Israel and a Palestinian state existing side-by-side. But after more than 21 months of war in Gaza, the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Israeli officials declaring designs to annex occupied territory, it is feared a Palestinian state could become geographically impossible. Barrot said it would be an "illusion to think that you can get to a lasting ceasefire without having an outline of what's going to happen in Gaza after the end of the war and having a political horizon." 'Israeli unilateral actions' Beyond facilitating conditions for recognising Palestine, the meeting will focus on three other issues: reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalization of relations with Israel by Arab states. However, no new normalisation deals are expected to be announced at the meeting, according to a French diplomatic source. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said US President Donald Trump could be a "catalyst" to ending the war in Gaza and jump-starting the two-state solution, stressing Riyadh had no plans to normalize relations with Israel. Following his plea to Trump, the US State Department labeled the three-day event "unproductive and ill-timed," as well as a "publicity stunt" that would make finding peace harder. Israel and the United States were not taking part in the meeting, amid growing international pressure on Israel to end nearly two years of war in Gaza. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said "this conference does not promote a solution."
