29 September 2024 Israeli attacks on Yemen

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29 September 2024 Israeli attacks on Yemen
Part of the Red Sea crisis and the Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)
TypeAirstrikes
Locations
Ras Isa, Yemen
TargetPower plants, fuel facilities
Date29 September 2024
Executed byFlag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg  Israel Defense Forces
Casualties6 dead, 57+ injured

On 29 September 2024, Israel launched attacks in Yemen against the ports of Al Hudaydah and Ras Isa, both located in the Houthi-controlled part of the country, using F-15I, F-35I Adir, and F-16I aircraft. [1] Six people were killed [2] [3] and at least 57 were injured. [2] [4] Widespread power outages were caused in the city of Hodeida itself. [4] The attacks caused significant damage to Yemeni port facilities and power generating stations. [4]

Contents

The Israeli attacks were in response to missile fire from the Houthis directed at Israel. The Houthis said their missile attacks are part of a broader campaign to express solidarity with the people of Gaza and Lebanon. [5] [6] This was the second major Israeli retaliatory strike against the Houthis since Operation Outstretched Arm on 20 July 2024, which saw Israeli aircraft attacking the Al Hudaydah port.

Background

War in Yemen

The Houthi movement, officially "Ansar Allah", is Islamist group in Yemen that follows the Shiite Zaydi faith. [7] The movement has been fueled by decades of discrimination against the Shi'ites in Yemen and took power in 2014. [7] In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies, with American support, launched a war against the Houthis, and imposed a naval and air blockade. The resulting famine has killed an estimated 150,000 people. [7] They were designated a terrorist organization by the United States, [8] [9] Saudi Arabia, [10] United Arab Emirates, [11] Malaysia, [12] and Australia. [13] [14] The group has called for the destruction of Israel. [7] The movement, whose militants oppose Yemen's internationally recognized government, has controlled a considerable swath of the country's territory along the Red Sea since 2014.

Spillover of the Israel–Hamas war

After the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and subsequent Israeli invasion and bombardment of the Gaza Strip, the Houthis launched retaliatory attacks on Israel, promising to continue them until "Israeli aggression stops." [7] [15] [16]

Houthi attacks on international shipping vessels in the Red Sea were deemed by some as international piracy, [17] [18] drawing a military response from a number of countries. In January 2024, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2722, condemning the Houthi attacks and affirming freedom of navigation. [19] The United States-led Operation Prosperity Guardian was launched to protect Red Sea shipping. Since 12 January, the US and UK have led coalition air and missile strikes against the Houthis, while other countries are independently patrolling the waters near Yemen. [20]

On 19 July a drone launched by Houthi militants from Yemen hit Tel Aviv, killing one person and injuring 10 others. [21] [22]

The next day, Israel attacked the Hodeidah port in Yemen, killing 14 people and injuring 90. Houthi officials condemned the Israeli attacks, and said they will not stop until what they called "the genocide in Gaza" is stopped. [23] Among those killed in the Israeli attacks were 12 employees of the Yemen Petroleum Corporation. [24] The attacks reportedly targeted a power station, [25] [26] and caused power outages for the local population. [27]

Attacks

The Israeli military said it used "dozens" of aircraft, including fighter jets, refuelers and spy planes, to make the attacks some 1,800 km from Israel. [28]

Targets

According to early reports the targets were fuel facilities, power stations and docks at the Ras Issa and Hodeidah ports. [6] The attacks killed one port worker and three electrical engineers. [5] Residents said the attacks power outages in most of Hodeidah. [6]

Israel acknowledged that the ports are used to import oil, but said they are also used to import weapons and the oil can be used for military purposes. [28]

Reactions

Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the airstrikes, labeling them "inhumane" and accusing the United States of backing Israeli attacks against civilian facilities. [5]

Israeli defence minister tweeted “Our message is clear, for us, no place is too far” in reference to the long distance traversed to conduct the attacks. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Hudaydah</span> City in Yemen

Al Hudaydah, also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea and it is the centre of Al Hudaydah Governorate. As of 2023, it has an estimated population of 735,000.

Hodeida International Airport is an airport in Hodeida, Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war</span> Saudi war against Houthis in Yemen launched in 2015

On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 by Houthi insurgents during the Yemeni Civil War. Efforts by the United Nations to facilitate a power sharing arrangement under a new transitional government collapsed, leading to escalating conflict between government forces, Houthi rebels, and other armed groups, which culminated in Hadi fleeing to Saudi Arabia shortly before it began military operations in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict</span> Armed conflict between the Houthi movement in Yemen and Saudi Arabia

The Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict is an ongoing armed conflict between the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi forces that has been taking place in the Arabian Peninsula, including the southern Saudi regions of Asir, Jizan, and Najran, and northern Yemeni governorates of Saada, Al Jawf, and Hajjah, since the onset of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in 2015.

The Battle of Port Midi refers to a battle during the Yemeni Civil War between the Saudi coalition-backed Hadi loyalists and the Houthi government. Although Hadi loyalists seized the port, the Houthi fighters along with the popular committees managed to conduct some attacks around Midi. The conflict also had spillovers in the rest of the Hajjah Governorate. On 26 January 2017, Hadi loyalists extended their control to Harad District in Hajjah Governorate.

The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Hudaydah offensive</span> Offensive of the Yemeni Civil War

Al Hudaydah offensive, also called Western Coast Offensive, describes the offensive launched in December 2017 by pro-government forces against the Houthis in Al Hudaydah Governorate as part of Yemen's 2015 civil war. As of December 2018, the pro-government forces have captured the towns of Al Khawkhah, Hays, At Tuhayta, and brokered a ceasefire in Al Hudaydah City. In November 2021, a coalition withdrawal led the Houthi forces to break the siege of Al Hudaydah and recapture At Tuhayta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Al Hudaydah</span> Battle of the Yemeni Civil War

The siege of Al Hudaydah, codenamed Operation Golden Victory, was a major Saudi-led coalition assault on the port city of Al Hudaydah in Yemen. It was spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and has been considered as the largest battle since the start of Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudaydah Port</span> Port in Yemen

The Hudaydah Port is a key Yemeni port on the Red Sea coast. It is the second largest port in the country, located in Al Hudaydah, the fourth largest city in Yemen. The port handles up to 80% of the humanitarian supplies, fuel and commercial goods in northern Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Sea crisis</span> Houthi involvement in the Israel–Hamas war

The Red Sea crisis began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen launched missiles and armed drones at Israel, demanding an end to the invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have since seized and launched aerial attacks against dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea, drawing hundreds of air strikes on missile sites and other targets by US and allied forces. The crisis is linked to the Israel–Hamas war, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Iran–United States proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis.

Events of the year 2024 in Israel.

Events in the year 2024 in Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Red Sea crisis</span>

These are monthly timelines of the Red Sea crisis, which began on 19 October 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 missile strikes in Yemen</span> Military strikes conducted by the US and UK against Yemeni Houthis

Since 12 January 2024, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, have launched a series of cruise missile and airstrikes, codenamed Operation Poseidon Archer, against the Houthi movement in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis had previously declared that their attacks are in support of Palestinians during the Israel–Hamas war; Houthi attacks on shipping were condemned by the United Nations Security Council the day before the initial strike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)</span> Ongoing period of increased instability in the Middle East

The Middle Eastern crisis is a series of conflicts and heightened instability in the Middle East which began with the 7 October attacks on Israel and the war that followed, leading to a major escalation of the existing tensions between Israel and Iran. This escalation has resulted in several proxy conflicts breaking out across the Middle East involving both sides.

On 30 May 2024, the United States and United Kingdom conducted a joint set of airstrikes in Sanaa and Hodeidah, Yemen, killing 16 people and injuring 42. The United States and United Kingdom claimed that the strikes were targeting members of the Houthi rebel group; however, the Houthis claimed all those killed or injured in the strikes were civilians.

On 12 June 2024, the Yemeni Houthi movement attacked the MV Tutor, a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, in the southern Red Sea with an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and an anti-ship missile, killing one crewmember. The vessel was seriously damaged, and later abandoned by her crew. She sank six days after the attacks. The attacks mark the first successful usage of a USV and the second sinking by the Houthis in the Red Sea crisis.

On 20 July 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an attack on Hudaydah Port in Al Hudaydah, Yemen. The attack damaged a power generating station, an oil refinery, fuel storage facilities belonging to the Yemen Petroleum Corporation (YPC), and port cranes. Israel claimed it targeted weapon storage facilities. 14 people were killed, including 12 port employees and more than 90 were injured, many with severe burns.

Yemeni Houthi militants performed a drone attack on Israel on 19 July 2024, hitting an apartment building near the US Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, Israel's economic center in Ben Yehuda Street. The drone strike killed one person in his apartment building, and injured 10 others. The drone was spotted but not intercepted due to what Israel attributed to human error, with the Houthis asserting that they had developed a drone with the ability to evade the Iron Dome. The air raid siren was also not activated.

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