Israel strikes Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa

An Israeli airstrike has struck the Sanaa International Airport in Yemen’s capital, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed.

Earlier in the day, the IDF asked people to evacuate the airport, warning that “failure to evacuate and stay away from the area puts you in danger.” This comes a day after Israeli strikes on targets in the neighbouring city of Hudaydah.

The attacks followed the Yemeni Houthi group’s missile that landed near Israel’s main airport on Sunday.

Israel has launched several rounds of strikes against the Iran-backed group in Yemen, including the targeting of a power plant and ports in January. Israel previously carried out a strike on Sanaa’s airport last December.

The IDF on Monday said it attacked Houthi targets in the Hudaydah Port and the Bajil cement factory east of the city of Hudaydah.

It claimed that the port was used by the group as a “central supply source”, and for “the transfer of Iranian weapons”, while the cement factory functioned as a “significant economic resource”, and was used by the group to construct tunnels and infrastructure.

The port is the second-largest in the Red Sea after Aden, and is the entry point for about 80% of Yemen’s food imports.

A spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry, Anees al-Asbahi, said at least 21 people were injured in the attack.

The Houthis blamed the US and Israel jointly for the attack, but a US defence official told the AFP news agency that their forces “did not participate” in the strikes on Yemen.

The missile fired towards Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday morning landed next to an access road near the main terminal. Six people were injured, Israeli emergency services said.

Following the strike, the Houthis said they would impose “a comprehensive aerial blockade” on Israel by targeting airports in response to Israel’s plans to expand its military operations in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation against the Houthis for the airport attack, saying: “We attacked in the past, we will attack in the future.”