AL-MUKALLA: The leader of Yemen’s Houthi militia, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, on Sunday pledged to carry out further attacks on Israel in response to the latest wave of Israeli airstrikes on the western city of Hodeidah.
In a televised speech, Al-Houthi announced the commencement of the fifth phase of the militia’s attacks on Israel, which would include directly hitting it with more “advanced” weaponry capable of evading Israeli air defenses.
“The (Israeli) enemy’s strike on Yemen will not benefit them in any way, nor will it serve as a deterrent. Neither will it prevent us from moving forward with the fifth stage of escalation in support of Gaza,” he said.
On Saturday, Israeli warplanes targeted a variety of areas in Houthi-held Hodeidah for the first time, including the city’s dock, a power plant, and gasoline storage facilities.
The Israelis say that the airstrikes are in reaction to a Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv on Friday, which killed one person and injured at least 10 others.
The Houthis say that their drone strike on Tel Aviv and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are part of an ongoing effort to push Israel to cease its war in Gaza.
In his statement, the Houthi leader said that the drone that struck Tel Aviv, as well as other weapons, were manufactured by his forces in Yemen, denying Israeli claims that Iran provided them.
“The drone is Yemeni-made and launched by Yemeni forces, rather than being constructed or launched from other nations, as some claim,” Al-Houthi said.
As firemen struggled to manage a massive fire at Hodeidah port on Sunday, the Houthis said that six people were killed, three remain missing, and more than 80 were injured in Israeli airstrikes that also damaged tanks and a crane at the port.
Houthi media posted a video of black smoke pouring from damaged oil tanks at Hodeidah port, while the Yemeni militia was said to have extinguished another fire at a power station fuel storage facility.
Residents in Houthi-held Sanaa and other Yemeni cities reported huge lines of vehicles and motorcycles outside oil stations after the bombings, despite the Houthi Ministry of Oil’s strong oil supply stockpiles.
This comes after Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Sunday that their forces launched a number of ballistic missiles against “important targets” in the Israeli port city of Eilat, in reaction to what he dubbed “American-British-Israeli aggression.”
He also claimed to have attacked the “American” Pumba ship in the Red Sea with ballistic missiles and drones. According to the Joint Maritime Information Center, the Pumba, a cargo ship flying the Liberian flag, sustained minor damage after being assaulted by a drone, manned boats, a drone boat, and missiles roughly 64 nautical miles north-west of Yemen on Saturday.
At the same time, Yemen’s internationally recognized government and other Yemeni parties criticized the Israeli attacks on Hodeidah and also accused the Houthis of acting in the interests of the Iranian regime by attacking ships.
The Yemeni government warned that Israeli attacks on Hodeidah will aggravate Yemen’s already dire humanitarian situation, accusing Israel of breaking international law and conventions.
In a statement carried by the official news agency, the Yemeni government voiced its support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state while warning Israel and Iran not to use Yemen as a battleground.
“Yemen holds the Zionist regime fully responsible for any repercussions resulting from its air strikes, including the deepening of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, which has been exacerbated by Houthi terrorist attacks on international shipping,” the Yemeni government said.
