DRAMATIC footage has caught the moment Israel launched devastating airstrikes on Houthi “military targets” in Yemen sparking a massive blaze.
The deadly blows are understood to come in retaliation after the Iran-backed terror gang launched a long-range drone attack – killing one person in Tel Aviv.
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The airstrike by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) targeted fuel depots, energy-related sites, and other facilities at Hodeida Port city in Yemen.
At least three people were killed and 87 have been injured during the airstrikes, reports Al-Masirah TV which is the prime news outlet run by the Houthis.
Footage captured a sky-high inferno and plums of smoke painting the landscape as Israeli pilots struck the area.
At least a dozen Israeli fighter jets including the F-35 stealth fighter jets, F-15 fighters, reconnaissance aircraft and refuelling planes played a part in the attack, Times of Israel reports.
One footage shot by beachgoers in the southernmost city of Eilat shows Israeli aircraft entering towards Yemen on Saturday.
The IDF wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “IDF fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terrorist regime in the area of the Al Hudaydah Port in Yemen in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the State of Israel in recent months.”
Foreign minister Israel Katz said the attacks have delivered a “severe blow” to the terror organisation.
The retaliatory act marked the first time the IDF conducted airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen – as is being seen as the “farthest-ever move” taken by the military force against the Iranian proxy.
IDF says the port strikes were to cause “severe financial damage” and prevent the Houthis from sourcing weapons from Iran.
Israel has long alleged the port was significantly used for “military purposes”, with Netanyahu claiming yesterday that Hodeidah was “not an innocent port”.
He said: “It was used for military purposes, it was used as an entry point for deadly weapons supplied to the Houthis by Iran.
The port was also being used to aid the Red Sea attacks targeting the internal shipping lane, Netanyahu added.
Israel had vowed to “settle the score” after a drone struck Tel Aviv on Friday, killing one person.
The blast left a building crumbling and shards of glass raining down onto the streets near the US Embassy with 10 people being rushed to hospital, according to Israel‘s national emergency agency.
Chilling footage shows the moment the strike hits as a huge fireball erupts over the city’s skyline.
A 37-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were reportedly hit by glass shrapnel – leaving them needing medical treatment.
A man was found dead in an apartment near to the explosion with police investigating whether it was related to the blast.
IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that the UAV was apparently launched from Yemen.
Who are the Houthis?
THE Houthi rebels are terrorising the Red Sea by launching persistent missile and drone attacks on vessels and warships – but who are they?
The Shia militant group, which now controls most of Yemen, spent over a decade being largely ignored by the world.
However, since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war they sprung from relative obscurity to holding roughly £1trillion of world trade hostage – turning one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes into an active warzone.
Their warped slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam”.
Why are they attacking ships?
The rebel group has been launching relentless drone and missile attacks on any ships – including warships – they deem to be connected with Israel in solidarity with their ally, Hamas.
However, in reality there have been frequent attacks on commercial vessels with little or no link to Israel – forcing global sea traffic to halt operations in the region and sending shipping prices soaring.
The sea assaults have threatened to ignite a full-blown war in the Middle East as intense ripples from Israel’s war in Gaza are felt across the region – with Iran suspected of stoking the chaos.
Houthi attacks in the Red Sea increased 50 per cent between November and December as the rebel group’s chiefs pledged their assaults would continue until Israel stopped its offensive in Gaza.
And despite repeated threats from the West and joint US and UK strikes blitzing their strongholds in Yemen – Iran’s terror proxy appears undeterred.
‘A LONG WAR’
Israeli air defences intercepted a surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen this morning, the IDF said.
The Israeli military said its Arrow 3 missile defence system had shot down the projectile before it crossed into Israeli territory.
Before the interception, air raid sirens had sounded in Eilat, sending residents running for shelter.
The Houthis confirmed they had targeted the Israeli Red Sea city of Eilat with multiple missiles.
Yehya Saree, a spokesperson for the terror group, yesterday vowed to respond to the Israeli airstrikes in Yemen.
He said they would not blink an eye before striking “vital targets” in Israel while threatening to attack the capital Tel Aviv.
Saree said: “We have prepared for a long war with this enemy until the aggression stops and the blockade on the Palestinian people is lifted.”
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‘LOST’ CEASEFIRE DEAL
At the end of May, Israel gave Hamas another chance to accept a ceasefire that could see the horrific war in Gaza finally end.
US President Joe Biden laid out the three-phase proposal detailing the offer that was backed by the US plus Egyptian mediators.
It was staged to run in a similar fashion to the first agreement in November 2023, which saw a number of hostages be released.
The withdrawal of all Israeli forces from populated areas in Gaza like the besieged city of Rafah would have started the process.
In return for the withdrawal, Hamas would’ve been expected to hand over all the remaining female, child and injured hostages.
Israel says there are still around 100 hostages trapped in Gaza, alongside the bodies of 30 more.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel would have also been involved in the trade.
Hamas declined the deal despite originally saying they viewed it as “positive”.
Although, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu did label the deal a “nonstarter” after not being involved in the proposal.
Netanyahu has also been called out by many world leaders for the way he has handled the systematic takedown of Hamas – leading to thousands of civilian deaths.
Former Brigadier General Shlomo Brom told The Sun that even Israeli military leaders could soon lose faith in the war and turn on the PM.
The IDF’s top brass is said to be growing concerned that their progress in dismantling the terror group has been wasted with no plan in place for after the war has ended.
It comes as Israel blasted a “repugnant” United Nations report claiming they had killed more than a dozen of its own people during the October 7 attacks.
The UN claims Israeli armed forces activated the “Hannibal Directive” which backs killing its soldiers to prevent them from becoming hostages.
The Israeli government angrily rejected the overall report, slamming the commission as “biased and tainted by a distinct anti-Israeli agenda”.
It went on to note that it ignored Hamas’s sadistic use of civilians as human shields.
The report “describes an alternate reality in which decades of terrorist attacks have been erased”, it said.
“There are no continuous missile attacks on Israeli citizens and there isn’t a democratic state defending itself against a terrorist assault.”
‘BRING THEM BACK’
Israeli forces have been on a rescue mission in recent weeks trying to save hostages still trapped in Gaza.
Heart-racing footage showed the moment Israeli troops stormed into a living room and into a darkened bedroom where they found three men sheltering together.
The daring mission carried out on Saturday saw Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) rescue Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40.
Noa Argamani, the 26-year-old woman whose story made headlines in October after she was snatched by Hamas, was also saved on Saturday from a nearby site.
A hail of gunfire can be heard in the video as IDF troops smash open the apartment door, along with what appears to be children shouting and screaming in the background.
Shlomi, lying on a bed, holds his hands above his head in the footage as troops storm into the dark bedroom.
All four of the hostages were taken by Hamas on October 7 last year, when the terror group launched a brutal attack on the Nova music festival in Israel.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza claims 274 Palestinians were killed, including children, during the raid.