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Israeli jets struck several targets including energy infrastructure in the Yemeni port of Al Hudaydah on Saturday, in response to a drone attack by Houthi militants that killed one person in Tel Aviv a day earlier.
The Israel Defense Forces said they had struck "military targets" in the port in retaliation for repeated attacks against Israel by Iran-backed Houthi militants since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza last year.
"The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time they hurt an Israeli citizen, we hit them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required. The blood of Israeli citizens has a price. This has become clear in Lebanon, in Gaza, in Yemen and in other countries - if they dare to attack us, the result will be identical ," said Yoav Gallant, Israel's defense minister.
Footage on social media of the aftermath of the attacks showed intense fires erupting in Al Hudaydah port, which is controlled by Houthi rebels, with flames and plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky.
Yemeni media reported that the attacks had caused casualties, but did not give the number of casualties.
An Israeli military official said Israel had struck "dual use" targets at the port, including energy infrastructure, and that Al Hudaydah was the main supply route for Iranian arms shipments to the Houthis. The official added that Israel had informed its allies before the attack.
A Houthi spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said the strikes had hit "civilian facilities, oil depots and the power station" in Al Hudaydah and would not deter Houthi forces but "only increase our resolve".
The Iran-backed Houthis, who control northern Yemen, began firing on Israel after the Gaza war began last year and have frequently targeted the southern Israeli port of Eilat with drone and missile strikes.
They have also launched numerous attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, severely disrupting the flow of goods through one of the world's main maritime trade routes.
However, before Friday's attack in Tel Aviv, in which a long-range drone exploded over the city center, killing one person and wounding ten others, attacks on Israel had not been fatal, with most of the projectiles were shot down by US Forces or Israel's air defense systems.
Israel's air defense systems identified the drone involved in Friday's attack, but it was not brought down due to "human error," according to Israeli officials.
The Houthis claim they are acting in support of the Palestinians as part of a so-called axis of resistance made up of Iranian-backed militant groups. Israel and the US have accused Iran of supplying the Islamic movement with missile and drone technology./ FinancialTimes
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