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The Israeli military said on Sunday that it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen towards the Red Sea resort town of Eilat, after Israel bombed a port held by the country's Houthi regime.
“The projectile did not cross into Israeli territory. Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling shrapnel,” a military statement said, two days after a Houthi drone strike killed one person in Tel Aviv.
Israel's aerial defense system has repeatedly shot down Houthi weapons off the coast of Eilat in recent months.
Firefighting teams were still battling a blaze on Sunday at the Houthi port in Yemen's Hodeidah, hours after an Israeli strike on the harbor triggered a massive fire and killed three people, according to the rebels.
Saturday's strike on the vital port, a key entry point for fuel and humanitarian aid, is the first claimed by Israel in the Arabian peninsula's poorest country, about 2,000 kilometers (1,300 miles) away.
It killed six people and wounded 87, many of them with severe burns, a medical source told Reuters.
[readmore"https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/israel-hamaswar/273852"]
On Sunday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels' “response to the Israeli aggression against our country is inevitably coming and will be huge.”
Israel said it carried out the strike in response to a drone attack by the Houthis on Tel Aviv which killed one person on Friday.
[readmore"https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/273487"]
More operations against the Houthis would follow “if they dare to attack us,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said.
Fuel storage tanks and a power plant at the port were still ablaze amid “slow” firefighting efforts, said a Hodeidah port employee.
The port employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security concerns, said it could take days to contain the fire, a view echoed by Yemen experts.
“There is concern that the poorly equipped firefighters may not be able to contain the spreading fire, which could continue for days,” said Mohammed Albasha, senior Middle East analyst for the US-based Navanti Group, warning that it could reach food storage facilities at the harbor.
Hodeidah port, a vital entry point for fuel imports and international aid for Houthi-held areas of Yemen, had remained largely untouched through the decade-long war between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government propped up by neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Despite Houthi assurances of sufficient fuel stocks, Saturday's strike triggered fears of worsening shortages, which war-weary Yemenis are ill-equipped to handle.
Yemen's internationally-recognized government, which has been battling the Houthis for nearly a decade, condemned the strike and held Israel responsible for a worsening humanitarian crisis.
It also warned the Houthis against dragging the country into “senseless battles that serve the interests of the Iranian regime and its expansionist project in the region.”
With AFP
“The projectile did not cross into Israeli territory. Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling shrapnel,” a military statement said, two days after a Houthi drone strike killed one person in Tel Aviv.
Israel's aerial defense system has repeatedly shot down Houthi weapons off the coast of Eilat in recent months.
Firefighters
Firefighting teams were still battling a blaze on Sunday at the Houthi port in Yemen's Hodeidah, hours after an Israeli strike on the harbor triggered a massive fire and killed three people, according to the rebels.
Saturday's strike on the vital port, a key entry point for fuel and humanitarian aid, is the first claimed by Israel in the Arabian peninsula's poorest country, about 2,000 kilometers (1,300 miles) away.
It killed six people and wounded 87, many of them with severe burns, a medical source told Reuters.
[readmore"https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/israel-hamaswar/273852"]
On Sunday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels' “response to the Israeli aggression against our country is inevitably coming and will be huge.”
Israel said it carried out the strike in response to a drone attack by the Houthis on Tel Aviv which killed one person on Friday.
[readmore"https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/273487"]
More operations against the Houthis would follow “if they dare to attack us,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said.
Fuel storage tanks and a power plant at the port were still ablaze amid “slow” firefighting efforts, said a Hodeidah port employee.
The port employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security concerns, said it could take days to contain the fire, a view echoed by Yemen experts.
“There is concern that the poorly equipped firefighters may not be able to contain the spreading fire, which could continue for days,” said Mohammed Albasha, senior Middle East analyst for the US-based Navanti Group, warning that it could reach food storage facilities at the harbor.
'Dire Humanitarian Effects'
Hodeidah port, a vital entry point for fuel imports and international aid for Houthi-held areas of Yemen, had remained largely untouched through the decade-long war between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government propped up by neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Despite Houthi assurances of sufficient fuel stocks, Saturday's strike triggered fears of worsening shortages, which war-weary Yemenis are ill-equipped to handle.
Yemen's internationally-recognized government, which has been battling the Houthis for nearly a decade, condemned the strike and held Israel responsible for a worsening humanitarian crisis.
It also warned the Houthis against dragging the country into “senseless battles that serve the interests of the Iranian regime and its expansionist project in the region.”
With AFP
This Is Beirut
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