Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that fighter jets had carried out strikes on Houthi "terror targets" at the airport in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, a day after the group fired two projectiles at Israel.
"Air Force jets have just struck terror targets of the Houthi terrorist organisation at the airport in Sanaa and destroyed the last aircraft remaining," Katz said in a statement.
"This is a clear message and a continuation of our policy: whoever fires at the State of Israel will pay a heavy price," he added.
Houthi media shortly after reported that Israel had struck the airport.
The strikes comes a day after the Israeli military said that it had intercepted a missile and another projectile fired from Yemen by the Iran-backed group.
The Houthis, who control large swathes of Yemen, later confirmed that they had launched two "ballistic missiles" towards Israel.
The Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles and drones targeting Israel since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023 following Hamas's attack on Israel.
The Yemeni group, who says it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians, paused its attacks during a two-month Gaza ceasefire that ended in March, but resumed them after Israel restarted its military campaign in the territory.
While most of the projectiles have been intercepted, one missile fired by the group in early May hit the perimeter of Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv for the first time, sparking wide cancelations of international flights to Israel.
Israel has carried out several strikes in Yemen in recent months in retaliation for the attacks, including on ports and the airport in Sanaa.
The Israeli military said the strikes on Wednesday had destroyed aircraft belonging to the group.
"The aircraft struck were used by the Houthi terrorist organisation for the transfer of terrorists who advanced terrorist attacks against the state of Israel," the army said in a statement.
"Similarly to the Hodeida and Salif ports that were struck last week, the main airport of Sanaa is continuously operated by the Houthi regime and is used by them for terror purposes," the army said.
With AFP
Comments