Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen capital days after Houthis fire new missile

Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Sunday (August 24), just days after the Houthi rebels fired a missile towards Israel.

News agency AP quoted the Houthi media office as saying that the strikes hit multiple areas across Sanaa, including a power plant and a fuel station. Residents reported hearing loud sounds of explosions in different areas, including close to the presidential palace.

Israel did not immediately confirm Sunday’s attack.

Also read: Israel strikes Houthi ports; rebels retaliate with missile at Israel

In support of Gaza

The Iran-backed Houthis have launched missiles and drones towards Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea for more than 22 months. They say they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians amid the war in the Gaza Strip.

Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, claimed the Israeli strikes won’t deter the rebels, and vowed to continue their attacks on Israel.

“Our military operations supporting Gaza won’t stop, God willing, unless the aggression is stopped, and the siege is lifted,” he wrote on social media.

Also read: Israeli strikes kill 25 in Gaza; famine declared in Gaza City

Strong explosions

“The sound of explosions was very strong,” Hussein Mohamed, a Yemeni resident, who lives close to the presidential palace, told AP.

Ahmed al-Mekhlafy, another resident, also said he felt the sheer force of the strikes. “The house was rocked, and the windows were shattered,” he told the AP over the phone.

The strike came after the Houthis claimed they launched newly equipped missiles towards Israel, including targeting the country’s largest airport, on Friday. There was no reported damage or injuries in Israel from that attack.

Also read: Famine declared in Gaza, first ever in the Middle East

New kind of threat

But an Israeli Air Force official told AP that the projectile fired from Yemen towards Israel on Friday night was a new kind of threat. The missile was a cluster munition, he said, a projectile that is supposed to detonate into multiple explosives.

It was the first time the Houthis had launched a cluster bomb at Israel since the militant group began launching rockets towards Israel in 2023, the official said.

The use of cluster bombs makes it harder for Israel to intercept and also represents additional technology provided to the Houthis by Iran, the official said.

(With agency inputs)