Israel hits Yemen’s main airport in airstrike against Houthis

On Tuesday, the Israeli military conducted an airstrike on Yemen’s primary airport in Sanaa, marking its second assault in two days against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, following the group’s missile strike close to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.

According to Al-Masirah TV, which is operated by the Houthis, three individuals died in the most recent Israeli attack. Israel advised individuals to evacuate the vicinity of Sanaa International Airport ahead of Tuesday’s assault, which it claimed aimed at Houthi facilities and “completely incapacitated the airport.” Later reports from witnesses indicated four impacts in the capital.

Tensions have been elevated since the start of the Gaza war, but escalated further after a Houthi missile struck near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, leading to Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah port on Monday.

“A short while ago, IDF (Israel Defence Forces) fighter jets struck and dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure at the main airport in Sanaa, fully disabling the airport,” the Israeli military said.

“The strike was carried out in response to the attack launched by the Houthi terrorist regime against Ben Gurion Airport. Flight runways, aircraft, and infrastructure at the airport were struck,” it said referring to the Yemen airport.

The general director of the airport announced on Wednesday that all flights to and from the airport are suspended until further notice.

Khaled al-Shaief noted in a post on X that the Israeli strikes caused “significant damage” to the airport. Three airport sources reported that the strikes aimed at three civilian aircraft, the departures terminal, the airport runway, and a military air base controlled by the Houthis.

“The operations of our armed forces will continue and the support by Yemen to Palestine will only end with the end of the aggression and siege against Gaza.”

The United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg said on X that the latest hostilities “mark a grave escalation in an already fragile and volatile regional context”.

An official at Yemen’s flag carrier Yemenia Airways told Reuters that three of its aircraft were destroyed according to an initial assessment.