CAIRO: Flights resumed on Saturday to Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, held by the country’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, more than a week after massive Israeli airstrikes disabled the airport.
The Israeli strikes on May 6 — a rare daytime attack — destroyed the airport’s terminal and left craters on its runway, according to Khaled Al-Shaif, the head of the airport. At least six passenger planes were hit, including three belonging to the national carrier, Yemen Airway or Yemenia, he said.
On Saturday, a flight operated by Yemenia landed at the Sanaa International Airport with 136 passengers on board, according to the Houthis’ Al-Masirah satellite news channel.
The flight had departed from Jordan’s capital, Amman, earlier in the day, the airliner said. Three more flights were scheduled on Saturday between Sanaa and Amman.
The Israeli offensive was in response to a Houthi ballistic missile that hit the grounds of Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, which briefly halted flights and commuter traffic.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout Israel’s war with the militant Hamas group in Gaza, in solidarity with Palestinians there, while also targeting commercial and naval vessels on the Red Sea. The attacks have raised the Houthis’ profile at home and internationally as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.
Since mid-March, the US military under President Donald Trump launched an intensified campaign of daily airstrikes targeting the Houthis. The two sides reached a deal to halt the US campaign in return for the Houthis halting their attacks on shipping.
However, the US-Houthis deal did not stop the rebels’ missile and drone attacks on Israel, which in turn responded with attacks on Yemen’s Red Sea ports held by the Houthis.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it struck the Hodeida and Salif ports, claiming that the Houthis were using the two facilities to transfer weapons. The Houthi-run health ministry said at least one person was killed and 11 others were wounded in Friday’s airstrikes.