Israel strikes Houthi port in Yemen after attack on Ben Gurion Airport

Israeli fighter jets attacked the Houthi-controlled Hudaydah port in Yemen, which serves as a “major” income source for the terror regime, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday night.

“The attack was carried out in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel, in which surface-to-surface missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles were launched at the country’s territory and its citizens,” the IDF stated in Hebrew.

The Israeli military said that the Houthis use the port to transfer Iranian weapons and other military equipment. It said it also attacked a concrete factory, located east of Hudaydah, which is an “important economic resource for the Houthi terrorist regime and is used to build tunnels and military infrastructure.”

“The damage to this enterprise constitutes a damage to the government’s economy and its military buildup,” the IDF stated.

Arabic media reported that U.S. jets participated in the attack, which came in response to a Houthi missile attack near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, but a U.S. official told Axios that Washington had pre-knowledge of but didn’t take part in the attack.

The Houthi missile hurt six people on Sunday and halted flights at the Jewish state’s main airport temporarily.

An initial Israeli Air Force inquiry found that the missile was not intercepted due to a technical malfunction in the interceptor. No issues were found with detection systems or alert protocols.

Israeli officials said that the malfunction was an isolated incident and Israel has a 95% interception success rate against missiles launched from Yemen since the war began.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a forceful response. “We have acted and will act again,” he said. “There will be blows.”

© JNS