Gaza, Lebanon, and… Yemen. The country, separated from Israel by Saudi Arabia, was hit on Sunday September 29 by new Israeli air strikes which left four dead and 33 injured in the west of the territory. Target of the strike: bases and infrastructures operated by the Houthis, these Shiite Islamist rebels controlling the majority of Yemen, allies of Iran and therefore by extension of Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas.
The Houthis, powerful armed wing of the “Axis of Resistance”
These shots were a response to a missile sent on Saturday by the Houthis towards Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. While the Israeli army claims that it fell in an uninhabited area without causing any casualties, a video from Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree indicates that the “new hypersonic ballistic missile” hit its target, a military position at Jaffa near the airport. An aggression which occurs despite the warnings of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned again in mid-September: “The Houthis should know that we are making any attempt to harm us pay a heavy price.”
The Houthis are in fact not their first attack on Israel. They, whose slogans include “Death to Israel”, “Death to America” and “Curse on the Jews”, are a powerful armed wing of what Iran calls the “axis of resistance”. Since October 7, 2023, they claim to have opened a front with Israel in “solidarity” with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Already last July, they carried out a drone attack on Tel Aviv which killed a civilian. They also regularly attack ships linked to Israel, the United States or the United Kingdom in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden.
Israel targets Yemeni infrastructure useful to Iran
On Sunday therefore, “a new Israeli aggression targeted the port of the city of Hodeida and that of Ras Issa in the province of the same name, as well as two power plants”, indicated the Yemeni insurgent channel “Al-Massirah”. Information quickly confirmed by the Israeli army, which affirmed that “during a large-scale air operation, dozens of air force aircraft attacked targets for military use of the terrorist regime Houthis”, including in particular “power plants and a seaport”.
Beyond an act of retaliation against the Houthis, this attack is also a way for Israel to reach Iran, whose influence is very powerful over Islamic countries in the region. According to Israeli army spokesman David Avraham, the seaport of Hodeida targeted by the missiles was “used by the Houthis to “transfer Iranian weapons to the region and supplies for military needs.” On Saturday, the Houthis said Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday would strengthen “their resolve” to attack Israel. In return, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that “no place is too much.” remote” for Israel.