Israeli fighter jets hit Houthi terror targets on Yemen’s western coast and inland in the country on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces stated.
“The Houthi terrorist regime has repeatedly attacked the State of Israel, its citizens and civilian infrastructure in Israel,” including using drones and surface-to-surface missiles, the Israeli military stated. “The State of Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Friday afternoon that “just as we promised, the Houthis are paying, and will continue to pay, a heavy price for their aggression against us,” according to an English translation of his remarks provided by his office.
“Today, we attacked terrorist targets of the Houthi terrorist regime along the western coastal strip and deep in Yemen. The Houthis are a proxy of Iran, and they serve the terrorist objectives of the Iranian axis in the Middle East,” he stated. “They constitute a danger to Israel and the entire region, including global freedom of navigation.”
The Israeli prime minister added that the Jewish state won’t abide attacks on the country and its citizens.
“We will take determined and forceful action against anyone who threatens the State of Israel wherever and whenever necessary,” Netanyahu stated.
The Israeli military said that “military infrastructure sites” in the Hizaz power station were among the targets it struck. That site “serves as a central source of energy for the Houthi terrorist regime in its military activities,” the IDF stated.
Israel also hit “military infrastructure” in the ports of Al Hudaydah and Ras Isa on Yemen’s western coast. “The targets struck are examples of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for its terrorist activities,” the IDF said.
The Israeli military stated that Houthi “attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world.”
“While the Houthi terrorist regime operates as an independent terrorist organization, it relies on Iranian cooperation and funding to attack the State of Israel and its citizens,” it added. “The IDF will continue to operate at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
On Jan. 8, U.S. Central Command stated that its forces hit “two Iranian-backed Houthi underground advanced conventional weapon storage facilities within Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen.”
“The Houthis used these facilities to conduct attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM stated, noting no U.S. troops were hurt nor equipment damaged.
“The strikes are part of CENTCOM’s effort to degrade Iranian-backed Houthi attempts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels in the region,” it added.
Also on Wednesday, Israeli air-defense systems shot down three Houthi drones launched from Yemen. Since Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Houthis have launched about 40 ballistic missiles and about 320 drones at the Jewish state, per the Israeli military.
