Israel launches airstrikes on Yemen a day after Houthi rebels strike Israeli airport

JERUSALEM — Israel's military targeted Houthi rebels in Yemen's Red Sea city of Hodeida with a punishing round of airstrikes, a day after the Iranian-backed rebels launched a missile that hit Israel's main airport.

The rebels' media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port Monday afternoon. Other strikes hit a cement factory in the Bajil district in Hodeida province, the rebels said.

The Israeli military said more than 20 Israeli fighter jets took part in the operation, dropping more than 50 munitions on dozens of targets.

On Sunday, the Houthis launched a missile from Yemen that struck an access road near Israel's main airport, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were lightly injured. It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Israel's airport since the start of the war.

The Houthis claimed that the strikes were a joint Israeli-American operation. However, a U.S. defense official said U.S. forces did not participate in the Israeli strikes on Yemen on Monday. The strikes were not part of Operation Rough Rider, which is the ongoing U.S. military operation against the Houthis in Yemen to prevent them from targeting ships in the Red Sea that started March 15. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Separately, the U.S. military launched multiple strikes Monday on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, another U.S. official said. That official also spoke on condition of anonymity, to discuss military operations.

The Houthi-run health ministry said at least 21 people were wounded in the Israeli strikes on the Bajil cement factory.

Nasruddin Amer, head of the Houthi media office, said the Israeli strikes won't deter the rebels, vowing that they will respond to the attack.

''The aggressive Zionist-American raids on civilian facilities will not affect our military operations against the Zionist enemy entity,'' he said in a social media post.

He said the Houthis will escalate their attacks and won't stop targeting shipping routes and Israel until it stops the war in Gaza.

The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in solidarity with Palestinians, raising their profile at home and internationally as the last member of Iran's self-described ''Axis of Resistance'' capable of launching regular attacks on Israel. The U.S. military under President Donald Trump has launched an intensified campaign of daily airstrikes targeting the Houthis since March 15.

Houthi rebels have fired at Israel since the war with Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023. The missiles have mostly been intercepted, although some have penetrated Israel's missile defense systems, causing damage. Israel has struck back against the rebels in Yemen.

The Israeli military said it targeted the Hodeida port on Monday because Houthi rebels were using it to receive weapons and military equipment from Iran. Rebel-held Hodeida, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the capital of Sanaa, has been key for food shipments into Yemen as its decade-long war has gone on.

Israel has struck Yemen, and specifically the port city of Hodeida, multiple times before. Israel previously struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv. In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people after a rebel missile targeted Israel's Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving back to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeida. The Houthis have launched multiple missiles towards Israel in the past week.

The attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday came hours before Israeli Cabinet ministers voted to expand the war in Gaza, including to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time. While air traffic resumed after an hour, the attack could lead to cancellations of many airlines, which had recently resumed flights to Israel.

—-

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Tara Copp and Lolita Baldor contributed from Washington, DC.