Israel struck Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Sunday, killing at least two people, according to the country’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels who have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel throughout the Gaza war.
AFP images showed a large fireball lighting up the skies over the rebel-held Yemeni capital, leaving behind a column of thick, black smoke.
The Huthis’ health ministry reported “two martyrs and 35 wounded” in the Israeli raid.
A Huthi security source told AFP that the air raid targeted a municipal building in central Sanaa, while the group’s Al-Masirah TV reported that the two dead were in a strike on an oil company facility in the city.
The channel said the targets also included a power station in Sanaa’s south that was previously hit last Sunday.
The Israeli army said it had targeted Huthi military sites in Sanaa, including areas near the presidential palace, two power plants and a fuel storage facility.
“The strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Huthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians,” the military said in a statement.
Late Friday, the Huthis fired a missile that Israeli authorities said had “most likely fragmented in mid-air”.
Since the October 2023 start of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, the Huthis have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel, claiming to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Most of the Huthi attacks have been intercepted, but they have prompted retaliatory Israeli air strikes on rebel targets in Yemen.
On August 17, Israel said it targeted an energy infrastructure site in Sanaa linked to the Huthis, with Al-Masirah reporting at the time the capital’s Haziz power station was hit.
The latest Israeli statement said the Haziz facility was targeted again on Sunday.
A photographer working with AFP reported significant damage after the August 17 strike.
Beyond attacks on Israel itself, the Huthis have also targeted ships they say are linked to the country in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden off Yemen.
The group broadened its campaign to target ships tied to the United States and Britain after the two countries began military strikes aimed at securing the waterway in January 2024.
In May, the rebels cemented a ceasefire with the United States that ended weeks of intense US strikes, but vowed to continue targeting Israeli ships.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said earlier this month that the Huthis would “pay with compound interest for every attempt to fire at Israel”.
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