Houthis ‘declare war’ on Israel and its allies
Yousef Mawry, a journalist and political analyst, says the Houthis believe the Israeli attack on Hodeidah was carried out in coordination with the US, UK and other allies, including Arab ones.
The Houthis say that “any state, any Arab regime, any government in the region that helps Israel or the US carry out attacks on Yemen will be met with retaliation”, according to Mawry, who was speaking from Sanaa.
“It’s going to be an all-out attack against all Israeli, US and British military presence across the region – whether that would be in the island of Socotra here in Yemen, US military bases in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Jordan,” he told Al Jazeera.
The Houthis “are basically declaring war on Israel, the US, the British government and any Arab regime considered an ally of Israel”.
Houthis say they will not hesitate to attack ‘vital targets’ in Israel
Yemen’s Houthis will not hesitate in attacking “vital targets” in Israel, a military spokesman for the movement says after Israel carried out air strikes on the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
Earlier, Netanyahu said the port struck by Israeli fighter jets in Yemen was used as an entry point for Houthis to receive Iranian weapons.
Netanyahu said the strike, about 1,800km (1,120 miles) from Israel’s borders, was a reminder to enemies that there was no place Israel could not reach.
Hezbollah: Israel’s Yemen strikes herald ‘new, dangerous phase’
Lebanon’s Hezbollah says the air strikes by Israel on the armed group’s Yemeni allies, the Houthi rebels, mark a dangerous turn more than nine months into the war on Gaza.
“The foolish step taken by the Zionist enemy heralds a new, dangerous phase of a very important confrontation across the entire region,” the group said in a statement.
Netanyahu vows: ‘We will defend ourselves by all means’
The Israeli prime minister has warned that Israel will “defend ourselves by all means”, hours after fighter jets struck a Houthi-controlled port in Yemen in retaliation for a deadly drone attack on Tel Aviv.
“I have a message for Israel’s enemies: Make no mistake. We will defend ourselves by all means, on all fronts. Anyone who harms us will pay a very heavy price for their aggression,” he said in a televised address the day after a drone killed a civilian in Israel’s second largest city.
