Death toll in yesterday’s Israeli attacks on Yemen rises
Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports, citing Yemen’s Houthis, that six people were killed and 57 others wounded when Israelis bombed Hodeidah and Ras Isa yesterday.
The previous death toll stood at four.
In a statement yesterday afternoon, the Israeli army said dozens of aircraft, including fighter jets, attacked power plants and sea port facilities at the Ras Isa and Hodeidah ports.
A large fire and plume of smoke are visible in the port city of Hodeidah, Yemen, on Sunday, September 29
Large-scale power outages have been reported in the aftermath, and some of the fuel tanks that were damaged in Israel’s first attack on Yemen on July 20 seem to have been hit again. Millions of people have been affected after the power stations that feed multiple governorates were damaged.
The attacks could potentially lead to a fuel shortage in the short term as well since the Ras Isa terminal is a major hub used by the Houthis.
However the attacks are not expected to leave the Yemeni group incapable of launching strikes on Israel and shipping lanes – as they have for almost a year in stated solidarity with besieged Palestinians and to end the war on Gaza. They have set a ceasefire in Gaza as a condition to stop their attacks.
Houthis say they will escalate operations in response to Israeli attacks
A military spokesperson says the Yemeni group will escalate operations in response to Israeli attacks, a day after Israeli fighter jets bombed Hodeidah and Ras Isa.
The military operations will commence “in the coming period”, Yahya Saree said in a video statement posted on X. He added that Houthi fighters had managed to shoot down a MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Yemeni province of Sadaa.
Saree said this was the 11th US-made drone of this kind that has been downed since the “battle” in support of Gaza began last year.
