Israel bombs Sana’a airport after missile launch as Houthis vow retaliation

Sana’a, May 6 (EFE).– Israeli fighter jets bombed the Sana’a international airport and several other sites in the Yemeni capital on Tuesday, an hour after ordering an evacuation of the area.

The strikes came in retaliation for a ballistic missile fired two days ago by Yemen’s Houthi rebels at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport.

In response to the bombing of Sana’a, the Houthis vowed to continue their operations, saying Yemen’s support for Palestine “will not cease.”

Al Masirah television, a media outlet aligned with the Houthis, reported that “a US-Israeli aggression targeted the Sana’a international airport with a series of bombings” but gave no immediate details on casualties or damage.

Besides the airport, the strikes hit key infrastructure, including three power stations, in Haiz (Sanhan district), Maeen (west Sanaa), and Dhahban (Bani al-Harith district), as well as the Attan area in the southwest of the capital and a cement factory in Amran, northwest of Sana’a.

Large columns of smoke rose from multiple sites across the city, shortly after Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted an evacuation warning on X in Arabic, advising civilians to vacate the airport area.

The wave of bombings came a day after US and Israeli forces reportedly killed at least four people and wounded 39 others in strikes on a cement plant and the Red Sea port city of Al Hudeida, according to Houthi sources.

In a statement issued shortly after Tuesday’s airstrikes, the Houthi government said it “expects anything from this war,” accusing Israel of committing “war crimes” and attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure.

“Yemen’s support for Palestine will not cease until the aggression ends and the siege on Gaza is lifted,” the Houthi statement said, vowing that the group’s military operations would continue.

“Yemen is actively participating in this war and is harming the enemy,” the statement said, claiming the group’s capabilities are growing with each round of aggression.

Tuesday’s Israeli airstrikes follow a Houthi missile strike targeting Israel’s main airport outside Tel Aviv, and come amid growing fears of a widening regional war fueled by the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The US began its bombing campaign against the Houthis over a year ago in retaliation for their attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and on Israeli territory. The campaign intensified on Mar. 15, 2025, by order of US President Donald Trump.

Since then, US forces have carried out more than 1,000 airstrikes, killing hundreds and hitting key Houthi infrastructure, including the Ras Issa oil port, a vital source of funding for the Iranian-backed Shiite group.

Israel first bombed Yemen on July 20 last year in a strike that killed at least a dozen people and targeted Al Hudeida’s port, oil depots, and a power station. EFE

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