Israel threatens Houthi leaders after striking Yemen ports

Israel threatened to target the leadership of Yemen's Houthis after the Israeli air force struck two ports on Friday, following repeated Houthi missile attacks in recent days.

The Houthis agreed earlier this month to stop firing on international shipping in the Red Sea after the United States stepped up air strikes on rebel-held areas with British support.

But the Houthis vowed to keep up their strikes on Israel, in solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli bombardment. The group fired three missiles in as many days this week that triggered air raid warnings in major cities.

The Houthis' Al-Masirah television reported strikes on the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, a key entry point for aid, as well as the port of Salif further north, without immediately mentioning any casualties.

Israel's military confirmed striking the two ports, saying it "dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites" belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

"These ports are used to transfer weapons and are a further example of the Houthi terrorist regime's systematic and cynical exploitation of civilian infrastructure in order to advance terrorist activities," a military statement said.

The Houthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, began firing at Israel-linked shipping in November 2023, weeks after Israel launched its war on Gaza. 

They later broadened their campaign to target Israel, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Houthi leadership that there was "more to come" after Friday's strikes.

"We are not willing to sit on the sidelines and let the Huthis attack us. We will hit them far more, including their leadership and all the infrastructure that allows them to hit us," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz also warned Houthi leaders that if the missile attacks continue, they face the same fate as Hamas leaders slain by Israel in Gaza.

"If the Houthis continue to fire, we will also hit the heads of the terror groups, just as we did to (slain Hamas military chief Mohammed) Deif and (the) Sinwars (Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammed Sinwar) in Gaza," Katz said in a post.

"We will also hunt down and eliminate the Houthi leader, Abd al-Malek al-Huthi."

In early May, a Houthi missile struck an area at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, gouging a hole near its main terminal building and wounding several people in a rare penetration of Israeli air defences.

Israel retaliated by striking the airport in Yemen's capital Sanaa, and three nearby power stations.

The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said the exchange marked a "dangerous escalation" and was a reminder that the war-torn country is "ensnared in the wider regional tensions."