Yemen Vows Retaliation After Israeli Airstrikes Hit Sanaa, Amran
Senior Yemeni officials pledged continued resistance and support for Gaza following Israeli airstrikes on multiple sites in Yemen, warning of imminent retaliation and accusing Tel Aviv and Washington of committing war crimes.
A senior Yemeni official warned Israel of a pending response after a series of airstrikes hit the capital Sanaa and other locations on Tuesday.
“The response is coming,” said Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, a top member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council.
He said Yemen remains committed to supporting Palestinians in Gaza, which has faced a US-backed Israeli military campaign since October 2023.
“The Yemeni people will not be intimidated by American and Israeli terrorism,” al-Houthi added.
The US has escalated its attacks on Yemen since March, aiming to deter Yemeni strikes on Israeli targets.
Israel confirmed it struck infrastructure in Sanaa and Amran, including the international airport, power stations, and military facilities.
In Sanaa, the targets included Sanaa International Airport, the Dhahban power plant, and two military sites.
In Amran, 60 km north of the capital, airstrikes hit a concrete factory.
The Yemenis said at least three people were killed and vowed retaliation.
Al-Houthi compared the strikes in Yemen to those in Gaza, stating, “The US-Israeli crimes in Yemen are the same genocidal crimes they commit in Gaza.”
“We will not accept in Yemen what we refused to see continue in Palestine,” he added.
He called for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s resignation, saying, “Netanyahu must prepare his resignation, for his crimes are failed terrorism.”
Yemen’s Ansarallah movement denounced the Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure as acts of desperation.
It stated the aggression would not alter Yemen’s stance and urged the wider Muslim world to confront US and Israeli criminal actions.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior Ansarallah figure, said Israel had “crossed red lines” and should expect a Yemeni response.
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli jets struck Sanaa’s airport and other targets.
Additional strikes hit al-Hudaydah port and caused civilian casualties.
The escalation followed a Yemeni ballistic missile strike near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, in retaliation for months of genocidal war against civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The missile reportedly bypassed multiple defense systems, including Arrow and THAAD, and landed inside the facility.
Yemeni forces also announced a full aerial blockade on Israel, urging international airlines to halt flights to the region.
The move is intended to pressure Israel to stop its war in Gaza and lift its blockade on the territory.
Yemen continues to enforce a naval blockade targeting ships supplying Israel, including those carrying military cargo.
Since Israel broke the nearly two-month-long ceasefire with Hamas on March 18, its military has killed at least 2,459 Palestinians in Gaza, bringing the total number of confirmed killed in the besieged Strip to 52,567.
