Yemen's Houthi rebels say Israeli strikes hit Hodeida
Israeli warplanes struck the Houthi-controlled Yemeni port of Hodeida on Saturday, a day after a Houthi drone attack killed a civilian in Tel Aviv, the rebels said. In a statement on social media, top Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam reported a "brutal Israel aggression against Yemen." He said the attack targeted "fuel storage facilities and a power plant" in Hodeida "to pressure Yemen to stop supporting" Palestinians in the Gaza war. The Axios news outlet cited US and Israeli officials as saying that Israel carried out the strikes in retaliation for a Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv. The Houthi attack on Friday penetrated Israel's vaunted air defences and killed a civilian in a Tel Aviv apartment building, drawing Israeli threats of retaliation. The Houthi-run health ministry said there were deaths and injuries in the Hodeida strikes but it did not give a toll. In a statement carried by the Houthi-run Al Masirah television, it said several people suffered "serious burns." Footage aired by Al Masirah, which has not been independently verified, showed a massive blaze on the seafront, with a large plume of black smoke rising into the sky. A witness in Hodeida reported hearing several large explosions and seeing smoke over the port. Fuel pumps across the city closed following the attack, the correspondent said. Hodeida has been hard hit by a series of strikes carried out by Britain and the United States since January in response to attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial shipping in the Red Sea The Houthis have attacked at least 88 commercial vessels since November in a campaign they say targets Israeli-linked shipping in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza war. (AFP)