Israel strikes Yemen's rebel-held Hodeida port

JERUSALEM - Israel said its forces struck Yemen's Hodeida port on Monday in the latest attack targeting Huthi rebels, with a security official from the Iran-backed group reporting a dock destroyed.

Israel has carried out several air raids on Huthi-held areas of Yemen, including on Hodeida earlier this month, in response to repeated missile and drone attacks since the Gaza war began in October 2023. The rebels claim to act in solidarity with Palestinians.

On Monday, the Israeli military "struck terror targets of the Huthi terror regime at the port of Hodeida and is forcefully enforcing the prevention of any attempt to restore the previously attacked terror infrastructure," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

"Yemen's fate will be the same as Tehran's," Katz added, in an apparent reference to the recent 12-day war between Israel and Iran in which Israel pummelled Iranian military and nuclear sites, as well as targets in the capital.

The Huthis' Al-Masirah television reported "a series of Israeli air strikes on the Hodeida port".

A Huthi security official, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP that "the bombing destroyed the port's dock, which had been rebuilt following previous strikes."

An Israeli military statement said that the targets included "engineering vehicles... fuel containers, naval vessels used for military activities" against Israel and "additional terror infrastructure used by the Huthi terrorist regime".

It said the port had been used to transfer weapons from Iran, which were then used by the Huthi rebels against Israel.

The statement added that Israel had identified efforts by the Iran-backed rebels to "re-establish terrorist infrastructure at the port".

The Huthis recently resumed deadly attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, targeting ships they accuse of having links to Israel, to force Israel to end the Gaza war.