Houthis say US bombed Yemen after rebels’ strike on Israel’s main airport

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen’s Houthis on May 5 accused the US of carrying out strikes in and around Sanaa, after the Iran-backed rebels

claimed a missile strike on Israel’s main airport

.

The Houthi-run Saba news agency said the strikes included two targeting Arbaeen street in Sanaa as well as one on the airport road, blaming them on “American aggression”.

Sixteen people were wounded, Saba cited the Houthis’ Health Ministry as saying.

The accusation came after Israel said a missile fired from Yemen struck inside the perimeter of Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on May 4.

The Houthis claimed responsibility, saying they fired a “hypersonic ballistic missile” at Ben Gurion, Israel’s main international gateway.

The missile gouged a wide crater in the ground near an airport carpark, wounding six people and forcing airlines to suspend flights.

The Houthis, who control swathes of Yemen including the capital, have launched missiles and drones targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a tough response against the Houthis, as well as its main backer Iran, over the attack.

In a video published on Telegram, Mr Netanyahu said Israel had “acted against” the Houthis in the past and “will act in the future”.

“It will not happen in one bang, but there will be many bangs,” he added, without elaborating.

Later on X, Mr Netanyahu said Israel would also respond to Iran at “a time and place of our choosing”.

Several international airlines suspended flights

to Israel following the attack, and hours later the Houthis promised more such strikes and warned airlines to cancel their flights to Israeli airports.

Iran denial

Iran on May 5 denied supporting the attack, calling it an “independent decision” by the Yemeni rebels taken in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Reacting to Mr Netanyahu’s threats, the Islamic republic warned it would retaliate to any attack against its territory.

“Iran underlines (its) firm determination... to defend itself,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said, warning Israel and the US of “consequences”.

Following May 4’s attack, an Israeli police video showed officers standing on the edge of a wide hole in the ground.

“You can see the area just behind us: A crater was formed here, several dozen metres wide and several dozen metres deep,” central Israel police chief Yair Hezroni said in the recording.

It was the first time that a missile has directly struck inside the airport perimeter, an Israeli military spokesperson told AFP.

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said it had treated at least six people with light to moderate injuries.

An AFP journalist inside the airport during the attack said he heard a “loud bang” at around 9.35am local time, adding that the “reverberation was very strong”.

“Security staff immediately asked hundreds of passengers to take shelter, some in bunkers,” the journalist said.

‘Panic’

One passenger said the attack, which came shortly after air raid sirens sounded across parts of Israel, caused “panic”.

“It is crazy to say but since Oct 7 we are used to this,” said the 50-year-old, who did not want to be named, referring to the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

Flights resumed after being halted briefly, with the aviation authority saying Ben Gurion was now “open and operational”.

On May 4, Israel’s army called up tens of thousands of reservists for an expanded Gaza offensive.

“This week we are issuing tens of thousands of orders to our reservists to intensify and expand our operation in Gaza,” Lieutenant-General Zamir said in a statement. The army would destroy all Hamas infrastructure, “both on the surface and underground”, he added.

Israel’s security Cabinet, in a meeting overnight, approved a plan to expand military operations in Gaza, including the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory, an official said May 5.

US strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels began under former president Joe Biden, but have intensified under his successor Donald Trump. AFP