Israel intercepts missile from Yemen after airstrikes on Houthi port

Though it was not instantly clear who launched the missile, a Houthi army spokesman had promised retaliation for Israel’s airstrikes Saturday on Hodeida, a port metropolis in Yemen managed by the insurgent group. Spokesman Yahya Saree stated the Israeli raids struck the port, an influence station and a gas tank.

On Sunday, Saree stated his group launched “plenty of missiles” in opposition to targets within the southern Israeli port metropolis of Eilat. It was not instantly clear whether or not the 2 reported assaults have been one and the identical. Earlier Sunday, the IDF stated air protection sirens have been sounding within the space of Eilat.

The Israeli strikes on Saturday have been a response to a uncommon drone assault on Tel Aviv on Friday for which the Houthis claimed duty. The assault killed one particular person and struck simply yards from a U.S. Embassy department workplace.

An IDF official, talking on the situation of anonymity to debate army operations, advised reporters Sunday that the airstrikes in Yemen have been performed utilizing a dozen airplanes — together with fighter jets and tankers. The “lengthy vary” strikes hit targets about 1,050 miles (1,700 kilometers) from Israel, the official stated.

The Israeli assault on Hodeidah port, a crucial hub for imports to the impoverished nation, sparked large fires. Netanyahu stated the port was being “used as an entry level for lethal weapons provided to the Houthis by Iran.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the Israeli response to the drone assault made “it clear to our enemies that there is no such thing as a place that the lengthy arm of the State of Israel is not going to attain.”

After the warfare in Gaza started in October, the Houthis began attacking ships close to the Yemeni coast in an effort to construct stress on Israel to finish its army operations within the Strip. A U.S.-led naval activity pressure has been responding to the assaults however has been unable to halt them fully.

• Netanyahu is scheduled to journey to Washington this week to handle Congress and meet with President Biden, whose relationship with the Israeli chief has turn into extra strained in the course of the warfare. The prime minister’s workplace confirmed that Netanyahu and Biden will meet at midday Tuesday, amid doubts about whether or not the assembly would happen due to Biden’s coronavirus analysis. Netanyahu’s handle to lawmakers, on the invitation of Home Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), is scheduled for Wednesday.
• Israeli troops are persevering with operations inside Gaza, the IDF stated. Within the Rafah space, Israeli forces found “ready-to-fire mortar shells,” whereas an Israeli plane recognized an opposition group of militants that was then “eradicated” by IDF troops, it added. Troops additionally situated and dismantled tunnel shafts and underground infrastructure within the space of Tal al-Sultan, the IDF stated. Within the central Gaza Strip, IDF troops situated “numerous kinds of weaponry,” it stated.
• At the least 38,983 individuals have been killed and 89,727 injured in Gaza because the warfare began, stated the Gaza Well being Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants however says the vast majority of the lifeless are ladies and youngsters. Israel estimates that about 1,200 individuals have been killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault, together with greater than 300 troopers, and it says 326 troopers have been killed because the begin of its army operations in Gaza.