Middle East Escalation: Israel's Response to Yemen Airport Attack
- ~1 min read
Yemeni airport under attack by Israeli forces - Yemen airport strike precipitates Israeli retaliation
Following a rocket attack that damaged buildings near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's military retaliated by striking Houthi positions in Yemen. Roughly 20 fighter jets hit dozens of targets, the Israeli military reported. A reported attack on a cement factory killed two people and injured 42, according to the Houthi-controlled health ministry.
On Sunday, a Houthi militia rocket hit near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, prompting Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz to threaten "sevenfold retaliation." The Houthis countered by threatening to continue disrupting Israeli air traffic.
The targeted infrastructure of the Hou this group is a significant source of income, Israel's army stated. The port of Hudaida in western Yemen is used for transporting Iranian weapons, and the cement factory, used by the militia for military infrastructure, was also targeted. The attacks come in response to the repeated rocket and drone attacks by the Yemeni militia on Israeli territory.
Media Reports: Collaborative Attacks by Israel and USA
Israeli news site ynet reported the large-scale evening attack was coordinated with the US. The Houthi-aligned TV channel Al-Masirah reported attacks by the US and Israel on the port in Hudaida, approximately 50 kilometers east of which, in Bajil, a targeted cement factory was situated.
Residents in Bajil reported heavy explosions shaking the city, with smoke and flames rising above the factory, and ambulances rushing towards the scene.
A spokesman for the militia warned that the Israeli attacks would lead the Houthis to "expand the pool of targets" in Israel, weakening Israel like a spider's web.
Ongoing Yemen Civil War
The US military has been attacking Houthi militia targets in Yemen for months, aiming to protect international shipping in the Red Sea. The Hou this militia regularly attacks commercial and military ships there, stating they will only stop when the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, also backed by Iran, ends. Israel's army has not attacked any targets in Yemen for about four months.
Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war for ten years, effectively splitting the country. The Iran-backed Houthi militia controls large areas in the north, including the capital Sanaa and the port city of Hudaida, while the internationally recognized government controls the south.
Keywords
- Israel
- Yemen
- Hudaida
- Tel Aviv
- Middle East
- Military
- Rocket Attack
- USA
- Bajil
- BMG
- Sunday
- Ben Gurion Airport
Enrichment Insights
- The recent coordinated military response involving Israel and the United States targeted Houthi forces in Yemen following a rocket attack on Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. The strikes aimed to degrade the Houthis' military and economic capabilities by targeting critical infrastructure such as the Hodeidah seaport and Bajil concrete factory.
- This airstrike was Israel's sixth against the Houthis since July 2024 and the first since January 2025, after a period during which the US had conducted extensive aerial operations believed sufficient to deter the Houthis. The Houthis had been launching over 400 attacks on Israel since the beginning of the war, including ballistic missile and drone strikes on Israeli cities.
- The Houthis are widely recognized as a proxy force backed, funded, and directed by Iran, seeking to destabilize Israel and undermine regional order while disrupting global maritime navigation through control of strategic ports. This escalation increases tensions in the Middle East, with the potential for broader regional conflict given Iran's pivotal role in backing the Houthis and other proxy groups.
- The Commission has been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to ionizing radiation, considering the recent escalation in the Middle East and the potential dangers associated with the run-of-the-mill military operations in war-and-conflicts zones, such as Israel's response to the Yemen Airport attack.
- Aviv, a prominent political analyst, suggested that the Yemen civil war, with its complex web of alliances and proxy wars, bears striking resemblances to the intricate politics in the Middle East, much like the delicate balance between Israel and Iran played out in the broader context of the general news landscape.
- In an interview on a popular news channel, Hudaida's governor expressed concerns over the disrupting of their economy due to the war-and-conflicts, emphasizing the importance of the port city for the local population's livelihood and stressing that the ongoing conflict makes it difficult for the region to move towards peace and stability.
- Weapons smuggled into Yemen from Iran have been a contentious issue in the region, with Israel often mentioning it as a cause for concern when addressing theScroll matters with journalists and other news outlets, weaving these topics into broader discussions on the Middle East, politics, and international conflicts.
