The Yemeni Houthis threatened Israel on Sunday with “huge retaliation” to its deadly strikes on the still-burning port of Hodeidah, in a new regional escalation linked to the war in Gaza, now in its tenth month.
The Israeli strike, the first claimed by Israel in Yemen, set oil tanks ablaze at the vital port and came a day after the first fatal attack by the Houthis in Israel.
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On Sunday, Israel said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen.
“The response to Israeli aggression (…) is inevitable and will be enormous,” warned their military spokesman, Yahya Saree. Houthi leader Abdel Malik al-Houthi said the strikes would lead to “further escalation and more attacks targeting Israel.” He said the deadly Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv had opened “a new phase” in operations.
Other operations against the Houthis will follow “if they dare to attack us,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
On Monday, the massive blaze at the Yemen port, was still ongoing for a third consecutive day following the strike on Saturday, said an AFP correspondent in Hodeidah.
Firefighting teams appear to have made little progress, with the blaze seemingly expanding in some parts of the port, the correspondent said, amid fears it could reach food storage facilities.
With AFP
