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Israeli warplanes killed three people in the Huthi-controlled Yemeni port of Hodeida, the Iran-backed rebels said Sunday after the group’s deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv.
The strikes on the vital port, which triggered a raging fire and plumes of black smoke, are the first claimed by Israel in the Arabian peninsula’s poorest country, about 2,000 kilometers (1,300 miles) away, analysts said.
“The blood of Israeli citizens has a price,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, adding more operations against the Huthis would follow “if they dare to attack us.”
Gallant said the Hodeida strikes were also a warning to other Iran-backed armed groups around the Middle East that have claimed attacks on Israel during the Gaza war.
“The fire that is currently burning in Hodeida, is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear,” he said.
The Israeli strikes killed three people and wounded 87, the rebel-run health ministry said in a statement carried by Huthi media.
The ministry said earlier that most of the wounded had severe burns.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the warning in a televised address. “Anyone who harms us will pay a very heavy price for their aggression,” he said.
Just hours after Friday’s strike in Tel Aviv, Gallant had vowed Israel would retaliate against the Huthis, who control swathes of Yemen, including much of its Red Sea coast.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said F-15 jets carried out the strike and all returned safely to base.
Rear Admiral Hagari accused the Huthis of using Hodeida “as a main supply route for the transfer of Iranian weapons… like the (drone) that was used in the attack on Friday.
