Israel carried out it first strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen since the Israel-Iran ceasefire, attacking ports and a power plant around midnight local time Sunday night into Monday morning.
The strikes come after at least three Houthi ballistic missiles were launched at Israel after the ceasefire, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) including one missile that was intercepted Saturday.
Israel struck the ports of Hodeida, Ras Isa, Salif and the Ras Kanatib power plant along the Red Sea. The IDF also struck the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship seized by the Houthis in November 2023.
“Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a statement following the strikes.
A short time before the wave of strikes, the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, issued an evacuation warning for the ports and the power station.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were part of the newly named Operation “Black Flag.” In a statement on social media, Katz said, “The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions” and promised more attacks would follow if the Houthis kept launch drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.
The Houthi military confirmed the strikes but said, “Yemeni air defenses effectively confronted the Israeli aggression,” using, “a massive barrage of locally manufactured surface-to-air missiles,” in a short statement on early Monday morning local.
Houthi political bureau member Mohammed Al Farah said targeting Yemeni ports, power stations, and other “civilian facilities is an attempt to harm civilians and has no connection to any military activity,” according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.
The attack comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travels to Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump.
Since Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza started in October 2023, the country has come under fire from missiles and rockets from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, who claim to strike Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.
The Iran-backed Houthis have also repeatedly targeted commercial and military ships in the Red Sea.
In March, the US carried out extensive strikes on Yemen to degrade the group’s military capabilities.
This is a developing story and will be updated.