Israel targets Yemen’s Houthis with airstrikes after missile launched by rebel group

The Israeli army has launched air strikes early Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen Houthi rebels, rebels responding with missile fires targeting Israel.

The attacks occurred after an attack on Sunday targeting a ship with Liberian flag in the Red Sea which caught fire and took the water, later forcing its crew to abandon the ship.

The suspicion for the attack on the bulk carrier belonging to Greek, Magic Seas, immediately came across the Houthis, in particular as a security company, according to drone boats carrying bombs, it seemed to hit the ship after being targeted by light weapons and grenades powered by rocket. The rebels’ media reported on the attack but did not claim it. This can take hours or even days before recognizing an assault.

A Houthi campaign renewed against the expedition could again attract American and Western forces in the region, especially after President Donald Trump targeted the rebels in a large air campaign.

The attack on the ship arrives at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, like a possible ceasefire in the War of Israel-Hamas is at stake and that Iran weighs if it is necessary to restart negotiations on its nuclear program after the American air strikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites during an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also going to Washington to meet Trump.

Israeli strikes target

The Israeli army said that it had struck ports held by Houxes in Hodeida, Ras Isa and Salif, as well as the Ras Kanatib plant. He has published images showing a launch of the F-16 from Israel for the strike, which intervened after the Israeli army issued a warning for the region.

“These ports are used by the terrorist regime Houthi to transfer weapons of the Iranian regime, which are used to carry out terrorist operations against the State of Israel and its allies,” said the Israeli army.

The Israeli army also said that it had hit the chief of the galaxy, a ship carrying vehicles that the Houthis seized in November 2023 when they started their attacks in the corridor of the Red Sea during the War of Israel-Hamas.

“The Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and used it to follow the ships of the Maritime Maritime Maritime Maritime to facilitate other terrorist activities,” said the Israeli army.

The chief of the flag galaxy in the Bahamas was affiliated with an Israeli billionaire. He said that no Israeli was on board. The ship had been operated by a Japanese firm Nyk Line.

The Houthis have recognized strikes, but have offered no assessment of attack damage. Their military spokesperson, Brig. General Yahya Saree, said that his air defense forces “had actually confronted” the Israelis without proposing evidence.

Israel has repeatedly attracted Houthi regions to Yemen, including a naval strike in June. Israel and the United States have struck ports in the region in the past – including an American attack that killed 74 people in April – but Israel is now acting alone to attack the rebels as they continue to shoot missiles in Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has threatened new strikes.

“What is true for Iran is true for Yemen,” Katz said in a press release. “Whoever heats up against Israel will be cut. The Houthis will continue to pay a high price for his shares.”

The Houthis then responded with an apparent missile attack against Israel. The Israeli army said that they had tried to intercept the two missiles launched by the Houthis, but they seemed to have an impact, although no injury has been reported. The sirens resounded in the West Bank and along the Dead Sea.

The crew of the ship’s attack forces to abandon the ships

The attack on the magic sea, a bulk carrier heading north towards the Suez Canal in Egypt, occurred about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the Houthis. The Center for Maritime Trade Operations of the British United Kingdom of the British army first declared that an armed security team on the ship had turned fire against a first attack of shots and grenades powered by rocket, although the ship was later struck by projectiles.

Ambrey, a private maritime security company, published an alert saying that a merchant ship had been “attacked by eight skiffs during the transition north in the Red Sea”.

Ambrey later said that the ship was also attacked by bombs -carrying drone boats, which could be a major escalation. He said two drone boats hit the ship, while two others had been destroyed by the armed guards on board.

The UK maritime trade center said that the ship was taking water and that its crew had abandoned the ship. They were rescued by a passing ship, he added.

The 5th fleet based in the American navy in the Middle East referred questions to the central command of the army, which said that it was aware of the incident without elaborating.

Moammar Al -Yani, the Minister of Information of the Exiled Government of Yemen opposing the Houthis, identified the ship attacked as the magic seas and blamed the rebels. The ship had broadcast an armed security team on board in the surroundings that the attack took place and headed north.

“The attack also proves once again that Houthis are only a front for an Iranian program using Yemen as a platform to undermine regional and global stability, at a time when Tehran continues to arm the militia and provide it with military technology, including missiles, planes, drones and sea mines,” wrote Al -Yani on the X.

The owners of the Magic Seas did not respond to a request for comments.