6 killed in Israeli strikes on Yemen’s Sanaa; Huthis threaten retaliation

Sanaa: Israeli air strikes in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Sunday killed at least six people, according to the Iran-backed Huthi rebels. The group, which has launched repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel during the Gaza war, reported 86 others wounded, with more than 20 in critical condition.

AFP images showed a fireball lighting up the skies above the rebel-held city, followed by thick, black smoke. A Huthi security source said the strikes hit a building in central Sanaa.

Targets and Israeli military statement

The Huthis’ Al-Masirah TV reported that the raids also struck an oil company facility and a power station in the city’s south, which was already hit last Sunday. The Israeli army said it targeted a military compound housing the presidential palace, two power stations, and a fuel depot.

The strikes were "in response to repeated attacks by the Huthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians", the army stated.

Netanyahu monitors strikes

Israel released a photo showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and military chief Eyal Zamir monitoring operations from a command bunker. Netanyahu said Israeli forces struck "the presidential palace in the heart of the capital Sanaa, the city's power plant and the fuel tanks that supply it".

He warned, "The terrorist Huthi regime is learning the hard way that it will pay -- and has paid already -- a very high price for its aggression against the State of Israel," adding that "the whole region" was also learning a lesson in Israeli power.

Huthi and Iranian response

In a statement, the Huthis vowed to retaliate, saying they would "not deviate from the fight" against Israel and the United States until "the aggression stops and the (Israeli) blockade on Gaza is lifted". Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the Israeli strikes.

Escalation of hostilities

The Huthis fired a missile late Friday that Israeli authorities said had "most likely fragmented in mid-air". Israeli media reported it carried a cluster warhead, the first known to have been launched from Yemen.

Since the Gaza conflict began in October 2023, Huthi forces have targeted Israel with missiles and drones, most of which have been intercepted. Retaliatory Israeli air strikes have hit several rebel sites in Yemen. On August 17, Israel said it struck an energy infrastructure facility in Sanaa’s Haziz district, which was again targeted on Sunday.

Katz had earlier warned that the Huthis would "pay with compound interest for every attempt to fire at Israel". The rebels have also attacked ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, claiming links to Israel.

With AFP inputs