Latest news with #Mohammedal-Attab
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel hits Yemen's Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport in tit-for-tat attack
Israel has hit the main international airport of Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, 'fully disabling' the civilian facility, according to the Israeli army. Tuesday's attacks that also targeted a concrete factory and several power stations in and around Sanaa came in response to Sunday's ballistic missile strike near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport, the Israeli military statement said. The army claimed that 'the airport served as a central hub for the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons and operatives'. 'The operation was approved by the Commander of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff,' it said. The military added that it would 'continue to act and strike with force' any group that poses a threat to Israel. Reporting from Sanaa, Al Jazeera's Mohammed al-Attab said the results of the attacks were not yet clear. 'So far, we don't know the impacts of this aerial bombardment on Sanaa International Airport or on the power station. We haven't yet received any reports about casualties or impacts on the infrastructure,' he said. 'Pure vandalism' Sultan Barakat, a professor in public policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, says Sanaa International Airport is 'not a big strategic target' and that Israeli claims it is being used to receive supplies from Iran are 'simply not true'. 'I think it's pure vandalism, to be honest. The airport in Sanaa is not a normal airport. It's under a huge restriction from the United Nations, from the Saudis, from the coalition – it's under sanctions,' Barakat told Al Jazeera. He added that attacking the airport will only hinder the operations of the United Nations and humanitarian agencies in one of the poorest countries in the world. Footage of the aftermath of the airport attack, verified by Al Jazeera's Sanad fact-checking unit, shows large clouds of dark smoke rising into the air over the capital. Earlier, the Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV confirmed that among the sites targeted is a cement factory to the north of the capital and a power station in the Bani al-Harith area. The attacks come less than 24 hours after Israel bombed the country's key Hodeidah port, killing at least one person and wounding 35 others. The Houthi media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeidah port. Others hit a cement factory in the district of Bajil, 55km (34 miles) northeast of Hodeidah, the group added. The Israeli military said the strikes sought to undercut the Houthi military industry, claiming the factory is an 'economic resource' for the Houthis and 'used to build tunnels and military infrastructure'. Since November 2023, the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks targeting vessels they said are linked to Israel in the Red Sea. The group says that it acts in support of the Palestinians in Gaza and that its attacks will stop only when there is a permanent ceasefire in the enclave. Although the Houthis paused attacks during a fragile ceasefire in Gaza this year, they resumed their operations after Israel cut off humanitarian aid to Gaza and resumed its offensive in March. The United States military under US President Donald Trump has launched an intensified campaign of air strikes on war-torn Yemen since March 15. Israel has repeatedly struck Yemen, killing dozens of people, including women and children.
Al Jazeera
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
US air strikes kill 38, injure 102 in Yemen
Air strikes by the United States on Yemen's Ras Isa oil port have killed at least 38 people in what is one of the deadliest attacks on the country by US forces, Houthi-affiliated media report. Al Masirah TV said the strikes on Thursday also wounded 102 people, citing the country's Hodeidah Health Office. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the air strikes were intended to cut off the Houthis' source of fuel and revenue. 'Today, US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists,' CENTCOM said in a post on social media. 'The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis,' it said. The Pentagon did not comment on the rising death toll in response to a query from the Reuters news agency. Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed al-Attab, reporting from Yemen's capital Sanaa, said the US air strikes hit several different areas, but were most concentrated around the port facility. 'The first four air raids were waged while the people were working,' he said. The air raids took employees by surprise, he said, including truck drivers who were on the scene at the time. The attack has drawn widespread condemnation across Yemen due to the civilian deaths and the strategic importance of Ras Isa, al-Attab also said. About 70 percent of Yemen's imports and 80 percent of its humanitarian assistance pass through the ports of Ras Isa, Hodeidah and as-Salif. Video footage shared by Al Masirah TV on social media in the early hours of Friday morning shows massive explosions lighting up the night sky across a body of water identified as Ras Isa port. The video then jumps to close-up clips of rubble and fires before panning to a graphic image of a dead civilian. 'Initial footage of the US aggression's crime targeting the Ras Isa oil port, resulting in a number of martyrs and dozens of port workers and employees being injured,' a caption attached to the post said in Arabic. Other videos shared by Al Masirah on X show similar scenes of destruction and interviews with badly burned port workers. The US attack marks one of the deadliest since the US launched air strikes against the Houthis in its biggest military operation in the Middle East since US President Donald Trump took office in January. In March, two days of US attacks killed more than 50 people, Houthi officials said. Ras Isa hosts an oil pipeline and port that are 'critical and irreplaceable infrastructure' in Yemen, according to the United Nations Development Programme. An Al Masirah TV correspondent said members of the civil defence force and the Yemeni Red Crescent had been dispatched to the scene to provide medical assistance and extinguish fires. Houthi official Mohammed Nasser al-Atifi told the news outlet that the 'American enemy's crimes' will not deter the Yemeni people from supporting Gaza, but 'rather will strengthen their steadfastness and resilience'. Early on Friday and just hours after the devastating US attack, Israel's military said that it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen. Since November 2023, the Houthis have reportedly launched more than 100 attacks on vessels they say are linked to Israel, a campaign they claim is in response to Israel's war on Gaza. Washington has warned the Houthis that attacks will continue until the armed movement ceases attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Al Jazeera
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
At least 38 killed, 102 injured in US air strikes on Yemen: Report
Air strikes by the United States on Yemen's Ras Isa oil port have killed at least 38 people in what is one of the deadliest attacks on the country by US forces, Houthi-affiliated media report. Al Masirah TV said the strikes on Thursday also wounded 102 people, citing the country's Hodeidah Health Office. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the air strikes were intended to cut off the Houthis' source of fuel and revenue. 'Today, US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists,' CENTCOM said in a post on social media. 'The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis,' it said. The Pentagon did not comment on the rising death toll in response to a query from the Reuters news agency. Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed al-Attab, reporting from Yemen's capital Sanaa, said the US air strikes hit several different areas, but were most concentrated around the port facility. 'The first four air raids were waged while the people were working,' he said. The air raids took employees by surprise, he said, including truck drivers who were on the scene at the time. The attack has drawn widespread condemnation across Yemen due to the civilian deaths and the strategic importance of Ras Isa, al-Attab also said. About 70 percent of Yemen's imports and 80 percent of its humanitarian assistance pass through the ports of Ras Isa, Hodeidah and as-Salif. Video footage shared by Al Masirah TV on social media in the early hours of Friday morning shows massive explosions lighting up the night sky across a body of water identified as Ras Isa port. The video then jumps to close-up clips of rubble and fires before panning to a graphic image of a dead civilian. 'Initial footage of the US aggression's crime targeting the Ras Isa oil port, resulting in a number of martyrs and dozens of port workers and employees being injured,' a caption attached to the post said in Arabic. Other videos shared by Al Masirah on X show similar scenes of destruction and interviews with badly burned port workers. The US attack marks one of the deadliest since the US launched air strikes against the Houthis in its biggest military operation in the Middle East since US President Donald Trump took office in January. In March, two days of US attacks killed more than 50 people, Houthi officials said. Ras Isa hosts an oil pipeline and port that are 'critical and irreplaceable infrastructure' in Yemen, according to the United Nations Development Programme. An Al Masirah TV correspondent said members of the civil defence force and the Yemeni Red Crescent had been dispatched to the scene to provide medical assistance and extinguish fires. Houthi official Mohammed Nasser al-Atifi told the news outlet that the 'American enemy's crimes' will not deter the Yemeni people from supporting Gaza, but 'rather will strengthen their steadfastness and resilience'. Early on Friday and just hours after the devastating US attack, Israel's military said that it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen. Since November 2023, the Houthis have reportedly launched more than 100 attacks on vessels they say are linked to Israel, a campaign they claim is in response to Israel's war on Gaza. Washington has warned the Houthis that attacks will continue until the armed movement ceases attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
