JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military bombed the airport in Yemen's rebel-held capital Tuesday, claiming to have disabled the airfield in an attack that left commercial aircraft burning on the tarmac as its fighter jets struck power plants and other targets.
The rare daytime attack on Sanaa, held by since 2014, came as part of a second day of Israeli airstrikes in response to near Tel Aviv. The Houthis described the Israeli attacks as killing at least seven people and wounding 74 others over two days.
But the future of American attacks on the Houthis, who have pledged to continue to target Israel, was thrown into question after . Trump described the rebels as having “capitulated†and agreed to stop targeting shipping in the Red Sea, though the rebels did not specifically acknowledge such a pledge.
“We indirectly informed the Americans that the continued escalation will affect the criminal Trump’s visit to the region, and we have not informed them of anything else," said Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi’s supreme political council, in a statement carried by the rebel-controlled SABA news agency early Wednesday. , Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week.
Badr al-Busaidi, the foreign minister of Oman who mediated between the U.S. and the Houthis, also is mediating between America and Iran over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
“Today's news about the situation in the Red Sea means that diplomatic efforts have lead to the end to the conflict between the US and Ansar Allah in Yemen,†al-Busaidi wrote on the social platform X, using another name for the Houthis. “They will no longer target each other, ensuring freedom of navigation for international commercial shipping in the Red Sea.â€
Israeli attack leaves Sanaa airport in ruins
The strikes in Sanaa came shortly after Israel’s military warned on social media that people should leave the area immediately, saying that “failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.†The explosions from the strikes echoed across Sanaa, sending the public fleeing to find cover as thick black smoke rose over the skyline.
The Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel later aired footage from the airport, showing its terminal's windows blown out, with concrete blocks exposed and a fire burning inside. On its runway, aircraft associated with the state carrier Yemenia burned.
The airline later said three of its planes had been “taken out of service†in the attack, though those abroad in Jordan were untouched. The Israeli strike came after its flight to Amman on Tuesday took off.
Other strikes hit a cement plant and power plants, the Houthis and Israelis both said. On Monday, Israel targeted Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeida, hitting a key port there and another cement factory.
Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said the strike should be seen as a warning to the “head of the Iranian octopus,†which he said bears direct responsibility for attacks by the Houthis against Israel.
The Israeli airstrikes involved some 50 bombs and “dozens†of aircraft, the Israeli military said. It also required mid-air refueling to reach Sanaa, showing their reach also to Iran as Israel has threatened to strike Tehran's nuclear enrichment sites.
Houthi attacks on Israel linked to war in Gaza
Sunday’s missile attack near Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were slightly injured. It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Ben-Gurion airport since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. While most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, Israel’s air defenses.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians there, while also targeting commercial and naval vessels on the Red Sea. That raised their profile both at home amid Yemen's decadelong war and abroad as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance†capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.
The U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said the latest strikes carried out on Israel and Yemen’s airport marked a “grave escalation in an already fragile and volatile regional context.†He urged the parties to show restraint.
In March, Trump had vowed to use “overwhelming lethal force†after the on ships sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s mounting another blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Trump told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. “will stop the bombings. They have capitulated, but more importantly, we will take their word that they say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.†Trump added, “I think that’s very positive. They were knocking out a lot of ships.â€
Data from Lloyd's List suggests larger shipping firms are slowly beginning to return to the Red Sea, though traffic through the waterway that once saw $1 trillion in goods a year pass through it remains low.
Israel has repeatedly targeted the Houthis. It struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv.
In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people after a missile targeted Ben-Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country. In December, in Hodeida.
Also Tuesday, Israel continued its strikes in Gaza. At least 18 people were killed, including children, when a school sheltering displaced people was hit in Bureij, according to Khalil Al- Dokran, spokesperson for al-Aqsa Hospital, where some of the bodies were taken.
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Gambrell contributed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
