Israel’s attack on Hodeidah marks ‘beginning of new stage’
Israel’s attack on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah marks the beginning of a new stage in the Middle East that has the potential of spiralling out of control, military and political analyst Elijah Magnier tells Al Jazeera.
While the statement made by Gallant indicates Israel intended its strike as a deterrent, it is unlikely it will have such an effect, Magnier said.
“Is this going to change the course of action of a nonstate actor that is motivated to support the people of Gaza? Certainly not,” Magnier said. “They’ve been given a perfect reason to increase the attacks.”
The analyst added that the fact the Houthi drone that struck Tel Aviv on Friday went undetected shows Iran has progressively been providing its allies with more sophisticated weapons and will continue to do so.
“We have not seen the end of it – far from it,” he said.
‘We will strike anyone who strikes us,’ Israeli foreign minister says
Israel Katz says the attack on the Houthi port of Hodeidah “delivered a severe blow to the Iranian-backed terror organisation in Yemen”.
“We will strike anyone who strikes us,” he wrote on X. “Iran is the head of the snake – it must be stopped now.”
Israel delivered a severe blow to the Iranian-backed terror organization in Yemen today. We will strike anyone who strikes us. Iran supports, trains, and finances the Houthi terror organization as part of its regional network of terror organizations aimed at attacking Israel.…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 20, 2024
Houthis promise ‘effective response’ to Israeli strike
The Houthi Supreme Political Council says there will be an “effective response” to Israel’s air strikes on Hodeidah.
Earlier, we reported that Israel confirmed it was behind an attack on the Red Sea port that struck oil depots and a power station.
“Our stance for the support and victory of the Palestinian people stems from our principles, beliefs and religion. We will not falter or back down. We will continue this support, God willing, and there will be more significant hits on our enemy,” the council said in a statement.
Army spokesperson says ‘Operation Long Arm’ conducted by Israel alone
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari says the strike on Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah was conducted by Israel alone and the aircraft that carried it out had returned safely to Israel.
Hagari said the attack has been named “Operation Long Arm”.
He was quoted by The Times of Israel as calling on the international community to unite behind his country. “Israel expects the countries of the world to stand on one front. This is a common international interest,” he said.
The international community is not uniting behind your genocide. The US and maybe still the UK as they've been bombing Yemen already.
It's also not a common international interest to bomb oil refineries.
