UPDATES WITH HOUTHI CONFIRMATION, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK
By Abdel Raouf Arnaout and Tarek Chouiref
JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL (AA) – The Yemeni Houthi group claimed drone attacks on five Israeli targets on Monday, shortly after Tel Aviv carried out airstrikes on Al Hudaydah port in western Yemen.
Israel’s Army Radio said a drone was downed by the Israeli Air Force. No air-raid sirens were activated by the drone.
While the army has not officially stated the drone’s origin, Channel 13 and other Israeli media reported that preliminary military assessments point to a launch from Yemen.
Yemen’s Houthi group, for its part, confirmed drone attacks on five Israeli targets, including Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
Military spokesman Yahya Saree said that the attacks that also targeted Eilat Port, Ramon Airport, and a target in Ashdod, had successfully hit their targets.
The attacks came hours after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Israeli forces struck Al Hudaydah port. The attacks were the 12th wave of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen since October 2023.
The Houthis have intensified missile and drone strikes on Israel since Israeli forces resumed attacks on the Gaza Strip in March after two months of a shaky ceasefire.
Since November 2023, the group has also targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where nearly 59,000 victims have been killed in an Israeli onslaught.