The Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck targets across Yemen on Thursday during the speech of Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, striking the port city of Hodeida and the international airport in the capital city of Sana’a in the interior.
The wave of attacks marks the fourth since July, and came after Houthi rebels launched several ballistic missile attacks and drone attacks at Israel over the past several days, including on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day.
No official estimates of damage or casualties had yet been reported, and the IAF had yet to claim official responsibility for the airstrikes, but Israel had been saying for days that it would step up its attacks, even targeting Houthi leaders.
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have continued to attack Israel after other Iranian proxies have stopped — either through their near-destruction (Hamas), or a ceasefire (Hezbollah), or apparent demoralization (militias in Iraq).
Israel may have targeted the international airport to stop the transfers of weapons and personnel from Iran to Yemen, which is one of the poorest countries in the world and lacks the money or knowhow to launch missiles on its own.
Thursday’s airstrikes may not be a one-off, and Israel could be at the start of a longer campaign to disable the Houthis’ ability to launch missiles at Israeli population centers and to threaten international shipping in the Red Sea.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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