Israel launches new airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemeni capital after overnight attack in Gaza

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Thursday’s Israeli airstrikes targeted the rebel-held capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida, after days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel.

The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at Sanaa’s international airport and the ports of Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, along with power plants.

It came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “the Houthis will also learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and the Assad regime and others have learned.”

Netanyahu has been monitoring the new strikes with military leaders, his government said. The media institute of the Iran-backed Houthis confirmed the attacks in a Telegram post but did not provide immediate details.

The US military has also targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days. The United Nations noted that ports are important entryways for humanitarian aid.

Over the weekend, 16 people were injured when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks.

The Houthis have also targeted shipping in the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

An Israeli strike killed five journalists the IDF says were militants

Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The Israeli military said all five were militants posing as reporters.

The strike hit a car in front of Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The journalists were working for the local news station Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group.

Iran-backed Islamic Jihad is a smaller, more extreme ally of Hamas and took part in its October 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel.

The Israeli military identified four of the men as combat propagandists and said intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, confirmed that all five were affiliated with the group.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups operate political, media and charity operations in addition to their armed wings.

Associated Press images showed the charred body of a van, with press markings visible on the rear doors. Weeping youths attended the funeral outside the hospital. The bodies were wrapped in shrouds, with blue press jackets draped over them.

Doctors said the five were among at least 21 people killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Palestinian enclave before dawn.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the war began. Israel did not allow foreign reporters to enter Gaza except as part of the military.

Israel has regularly denied targeting journalists and says it takes steps to avoid hitting civilians.

Israel and Hamas trade blame for the delayed ceasefire

On Wednesday, Hamas and Israel traded blame for their failure to reach a ceasefire deal, despite progress reported by both sides in recent days.

Hamas said Israel had set other conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of going back on agreements already reached.

“The occupation has set new conditions related to withdrawal, cease-fire, prisoners and the return of the displaced, which has delayed reaching the available agreement,” Hamas said.

Netanyahu responded in a statement: “The terrorist organization Hamas continues to lie, abandon the agreements already reached and continue to create difficulties in the negotiations.”

Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,300 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.

The war was sparked by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli accounts.