Israel’s military has launched overnight strikes on Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, which it claims is used by Houthi rebels to transport weapons.

The Israeli army and Houthi-controlled media reported the strikes on Hodeidah, a key port for humanitarian aid imports, on Tuesday. An Israeli official said an “aerial and naval blockade” could follow unless Houthi rebels halt attacks on Israel.

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The strike hit two piers at the port, according to the Houthi reports. Israel’s military claimed responsibility shortly after, saying it used navy ships to fire missiles at seaports that the Houthis use for “military purposes”.

Neither the Houthi nor Israeli reports mentioned any casualties.

Located on Yemen’s western coast, Hodeidah is the main entry point for food and other humanitarian aid for millions of Yemenis struggling during a war that began in 2014.

Israel accuses the Houthis of using the port to transfer weapons as part of Iran-backed “terrorist activity” and targeted it with air strikes in May.

‘Aerial and naval blockade’

Before the attack, Israel’s military had warned Yemeni civilians to evacuate from the ports in Ras Isa, as-Salif and Hodeidah.

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According to reports, the Israeli attack occurred hours after the Houthis fired a missile towards Israel that did not reach its target.

Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have fired missiles and drones at Israel in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

A Houthi ballistic missile hit Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport complex in May and briefly halted flights.

“We warned the Houthi terror organization that if they continue to fire toward Israel, they will face a powerful response and will be subjected to a naval and aerial blockade,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on X.

Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in March, preventing the entry of food and other essential supplies and sparking a humanitarian crisis.

The United Nations has accused Israel of weaponising aid. It has called the Palestinian enclave “the hungriest place on earth” and said its 2.3 million people are at “critical risk of famine”.

Off-guard

The Houthis spent much of the past two years targeting shipping in the Red Sea in a campaign that disrupted international trade.

In response, the United States launched air strikes in Yemen. A two-month ceasefire in Gaza this year halted the attacks, but they resumed in mid-March with the end of the Gaza truce.

Hundreds of US strikes in Yemen killed at least 250 people until early May when US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire that would “stop the bombing”.

The truce apparently caught US ally Israel off-guard, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pledge that his country would “defend ourselves alone”.

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