Israeli fighter jets bombed ports and a power plant in Yemeni territory controlled by the Houthis on Friday, the Israeli military said, in the latest attempt to force the Iranian-backed militant group to stop firing at Israel and commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Israel has escalated its strikes on the Houthis in recent weeks in response to repeated attacks by the Yemeni militia, which has been firing on Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.
The United States and Britain have also struck Yemen repeatedly in an effort to secure international waterways from Houthi attacks. But it was far from clear whether Israel and its allies could successfully compel the Houthis to end their attacks through a bombing campaign.
Israel’s Air Force bombed the Hezyaz power station near Sana — the Houthi-controlled capital — not far from where thousands of Yemenis had gathered in a weekly solidarity rally with Palestinians. The ports of Hudaydah and Ras Isa, Yemen’s main oil export terminal were also attacked, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Experts have warned that attacking ports like Hudaydah, a major conduit for essential supplies in northern Yemen, could further worsen what is already one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Rocked by civil war for more than a decade, millions of people in Yemen face the threat of malnutrition, according to the United Nations.
The Israeli military said it had struck targets at sites that were being used by the Houthis for military purposes. One worker at the Hezyaz power station was wounded, according to al-Masira, the Houthi-affiliated broadcaster. There were no other immediate reports of serious casualties.
“The port of Hudaydah is paralyzed and the port of Ras Isa is ablaze,” Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said in a statement. “The message is clear: Anyone who harms Israel will be struck tenfold.”
The Houthis are more than 1,000 miles from Israeli territory and have survived numerous efforts to defeat them since they rose to power in Yemen’s decade-long civil war. The United States designates the Houthis as a terrorist group, and some of its regional allies — like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — have targeted them as well.
Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 prompted the Gaza war, the Houthis have fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel. They have also hampered global shipping by firing at passing commercial barges in a self-declared effort to enforce a blockade on Israel.
Over the past two months, the Houthis have stepped up their attacks, sending Israelis across central Israel rushing for bomb shelters late at night as air-raid sirens blare. On Thursday, Houthi militants fired three drones at Israeli territory; the Israeli military said it intercepted them all.
Israel has bombarded Yemen several times in response — sending its fighter jets more than 1,000 miles to do so — but has struggled to decisively subdue the Houthis. The United States and its allies have also struck the Houthis repeatedly over the past year without decisively deterring them from future attacks.
After the strikes on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, said “the Houthis are paying, and will continue to pay, a heavy price for their aggression against us.”
On Friday, Mr. Katz threatened to kill Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the group’s leader, as well as its other commanders.
“No one is immune,” Mr. Katz said. “We will hunt you down and destroy the terror infrastructure which you built. Israel’s long arm will reach you, wherever you are.”
Johnatan Reisscontributed reporting from Tel Aviv.
