Yemen Vows ‘Unimaginable’ Retaliation
SANAA (Dispatches) – Heavy Israeli airstrikes struck Sanaa International Airport and other critical infrastructure in the Yemeni capital on Tuesday, with the Zionist regime claiming that it “completely disabled” the country’s main civilian airfield.
According to local reports, the Israeli aggression also targeted two power stations located north of Sanaa and another one south of the capital. Large fires broke out in the Yemeni capital following the airstrikes.
Officials in Tel Aviv claim Sanaa International Airport was used by the Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) “for transferring weapons and operatives.”
However, only Yemenia Airlines, the country’s national airline, is allowed to operate in the airport, and the UN and the Saudi-led coalition have placed heavy restrictions on it.
“We tell the U.S., the British, and the Zionists that our military operations in support of Gaza will continue, no matter the sacrifices. The Zionists have crossed red lines and must await Yemen’s response,” Yemen’s Supreme Political Council member Muhammad al-Bukhaiti told Al Mayadeen TV.
Tuesday’s attacks were the second time in less than 24 hours that Israel had bombed key civilian infrastructure in Yemen. On Monday night, the occupying regime damaged about 70 percent of Hudaydah port, injuring 56 people and killing at least one.
Nasruddin Amer, head of Ansarallah’s media office, vowed that the YAF would respond to the Israeli attack and that the strikes would not deter further operations.
Ansarallah official Abdul Qader al-Mortada commented on the attack, saying that Israel should wait for the “unimaginable.”
The Israeli aggression came after a hypersonic ballistic missile hit Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday. Following the operation, Sanaa announced the implementation of an aerial blockade on Israel until the regime lifts its bloody siege of Gaza.
About a dozen international airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv and other Israeli occupied settlements after the strike which saw the Yemeni missile evade four layers of air defense systems – including the U.S.-made THAAD and Israel’s Arrow systems – before impact.
The missile landed inside the perimeter of the airport, near Terminal 3, injuring six people and gouging a large crater. International airlines suspended flights.
Ben Gurion Airport has regularly been used to receive weapons shipments from the U.S. to fuel the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
In October 2023, the Times of Israel published an article about U.S. weapons shipments to Israel that included a photo of a U.S. military transport plane delivering armored vehicles for the Israeli military at Ben Gurion Airport.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran was also responsible for the airport attack, and pledged a tough response to both Yemen and Iran, stating, “It will not happen in one bang, but there will be many bangs.”
Iran denied involvement in the Ben Gurion attack, saying it was an independent decision by Ansarallah and the YAF, while warning Israel of consequences if attacked.
Israeli strikes carried out Monday on Hudaydah port and surrounding areas, including a concrete factory near Bajil, injured 56 people and killed one and damaged 70 percent of the port’s five docks and infrastructure, Yemeni sources reported.
At least 21 people were injured in the Bajil strike, while the Yemeni Health Ministry later said 35 people were injured and one person killed in the broader Hudaydah attacks. Civilian areas such as Al-Salakhanah and Al-Hawak neighborhoods were also reportedly hit.
According to the Israeli military, around 20 fighter jets dropped 50 munitions on targets along the Yemeni coast during Monday’s attacks.
Hudaydah is the second-largest port in the Red Sea after Aden and is the entry point for about 80 percent of Yemen’s food imports.
The attack Monday marked the sixth Israeli airstrike campaign in Yemen since July 2024, and the first since January. The Israeli military had paused its aggression against Yemen following the launch of a U.S. aerial campaign earlier this year.
A U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity to Reuters said that U.S. forces were not actively involved in Monday’s strikes, but there was general coordination between the two allies.
Israel’s Channel 12, however, said, “The United States bombed Sanaa and Israel bombed Hudaydah.”
Citing officials, the television said the Israeli raids in Yemen are being coordinated with Washington while Netanyahu is overseeing them from the war ministry building.
Despite the intensity of the attacks, a security official told Israel’s Channel 13 News that Monday’s aggression is “merely a repetition of the past.”
“We do not expect the airstrikes to stop Houthi missile launches, and the air force is also preparing for a possible Houthi response,” the unnamed official was quoted as saying.
Since the start of the genocide in Gaza, Yemen has carried out over 400 strikes on Israeli targets.
Earlier in the day, U.S. and British warplanes carried out seven airstrikes in Al-Hazm District, located in Yemen’s Al-Jawf Governorate, northeast of Sanaa. Additionally, U.S. aircraft carried out three strikes in the Al-Sawad area of Sanhan District within Sanaa Governorate.