Israel launched a massive airstrike on Yemen on Sunday, the Defence Forces said, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. The strike was reportedly conducted to assassinate a senior Houthi military leader. Muhammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari was targeted in the strikes, IDF sources told the Jerusalem Post. However, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF has yet to issue any official statement regarding the incident.
Israel is also hitting targets in Tehran simultaneously, in a bid to intercept a series of Iranian missiles. Meanwhile, Houthi rebels in Yemen backed Tehran, stating it had a “legitimate right to defend itself,” Al Jazeera reported. The Houthis further condemned the Israeli strikes against Iran and affirmed that it has the “full and legitimate right to respond.”
In an overnight strike conducted on Hodeidah, the fourth largest city in Yemen, on June 10, Israel claimed that Houthi rebels use the key port to transport weapons. Two piers at the port were reduced to ashes, Houthi reports confirmed. Moments later, the Israeli military took responsibility for the attack, stating that it used navy ships to launch missiles at seaports. The casualties, however, remain unclear as of now. According to reports, the Israeli strike comes in response to the missile fired towards the country by the Houthis that did not reach its target.
