Israel strikes Houthi targets in Yemen after cluster bomb warhead use in missile attack

Israeli warplanes conducted strikes against the Houthis in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and hit a military compound where the presidential palace is located, besides two power stations and a fuel depot, the Israeli military said. The strikes come as a response to repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel by the Houthis. The airstrikes followed shortly after the Israeli military said that an investigation into a ballistic missile strike from Yemen on Friday night found that the Houthis had used a projectile with a cluster bomb warhead, reported the Times of Israel.

Loud explosions were heard in Sanaa on Sunday afternoon after Israeli airstrikes, and Houthi media claimed that the attack killed at least two people and injured five others. The Iran-backed Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV reported a preliminary toll of “two dead and five wounded” following the Israeli attack on an oil company facilityinSanaa.

According to the IDF, the Yemeni presidential palace in Sanaa is “located within a military site from which the military operations of the Houthi terrorist regime forces are conducted.” The two power plants that were targeted “served as a significant electricity supply facility for military activities,” the military said.

The strikes involved around a dozen IAF aircraft, including fighter jets and refuellers. More than 30 munitions were dropped on the four targets, according to military sources.

The Israeli army said in a statement that it targeted Houthi “military infrastructure”, including a site in the presidency palace and the Asar and Hizaz power plants.

“The strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs toward Israeli territory in recent days,” the army said.

“The IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] will operate against the ongoing and repeated attacks of the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel, and remains determined to continue removing any threat posed to the civilians of the State of Israel, wherever it is required,” it added.

The use of the power plants is further proof of how the Houthi regime uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes, the Israeli military said.

The Houthi terrorist regime operates under the direction and funding of the Iranian regime in order to harm the State of Israel and its allies. The terrorist regime exploits the maritime domain to project force and carry out terror activity against global shipping and trade routes, it added.

The IDF remains determined to continue removing any threat posed to the civilians of the State of Israel, wherever it is required, it said.