© Reuters/Abduljabbar ZeyadFILE: Soldier patrols the port of Hodeidah, Yemen
The Houthi-run health ministry blamed Israel Saturday for a series of strikes on a fuel depot in the Houthi-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida, adding that the strikes caused casualties.
"The Israeli enemy's raids on oil storage facilities in the port of Hodeida" have
led to deaths and injuries, the health ministry said in a statement carried by Houthi-run media, without specifying a toll.
Israel's military said Israeli fighter jets had struck Houthi military targets in the area of Hodeidah port in Yemen in response to hundreds of attacks carried out against Israel in recent months.
US official told Al Arabiya English that this was an Israeli operation and there were no American refueling efforts in today's Israeli strikes in Yemen.
The strikes
came a day after a Houthi drone attack penetrated Israel's vaunted air defenses and killed a civilian in a Tel Aviv apartment building, drawing Israeli threats of retaliation.
Al-Masirah TV said initially that the strikes were carried out by US and British forces but later deleted the reference to US and British forces.
Comment: The Houthi's spokesperson has commented:
Nasr El-Din Amer:
"Israeli aggression on Hodeidah Governorate and a fire in Yemen's main port.
Yemen's stance with Gaza is firm and will not change, and Yemeni operations supporting Gaza will not stop. The response to this aggression is inevitable, and the Yemeni people are stronger than all forces of evil.
We are a people who prefer martyrdom and sacrifice over witnessing Gaza being slaughtered without taking action.
We are also a people who, when targeted, do not retreat but instead increase in determination and conviction in the necessity of confrontation and response.
We are Yemen, the land of faith, wisdom, jihad, and steadfastness."
Further statements from the Houthis (full text below):
BREAKING: SIX STATEMENTS FROM YEMENI HOUTHI OFFICIALS🇾🇪
THEY ALL STAND WITH GAZA 🇵🇸
1. ANSARULLAH POLITICAL BUREAU MEMBER, MOHAMMAD AL-BUKHAITI:
"Our military operations in support of Palestine will continue until the genocide in Gaza is stopped & the siege on its residents is lifted, no matter the sacrifices required. Victory is only from Allah."
"The Zionist entity will pay the price for targeting a civilian facility, & we will meet escalation with escalation. The end will be for the righteous."
2. MEMBER OF THE DEFENSE & SECURITY COMMITTEE IN YEMEN, BRIGADIER GENERAL ABDULSALAM JAHAF:
"Gaza is being bombed, & Yemen is being bombed; this is pride. Our blood is not more precious than the blood of Gaza's children; our children are not more precious than Gaza's children. We will not abandon Gaza & will be as Allah wants us to be. We will not abandon Gaza. Let the whole world hear this. We will not abandon Gaza."
3. NASR AL-DIN, A SENIOR ANSARULLAH MEMBER:
"Yemen's position on Gaza is firm & will not change. Attacks in Yemen will not stop & the reaction to this aggression is inevitable. The Yemeni people are stronger than all the forces of evil."
4. ANSARALLAH SPOKESMAN MOHAMMAD ABDUL SALAM:
"The brutal 'israeli' aggression on Yemen by targeting civilian facilities, oil tanks & the power station in Hodeidah aims to double the suffering of the people & pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza. This is a dream that will never come true."
"We affirm that this brutal aggression will only increase the determination, steadfastness & escalating continuation of the Yemenis & their brave Armed Forces in supporting Gaza."
"Thanks to Allah, the Yemeni people are capable of facing all challenges & in the pursuit of justice for Palestine & the people of Gaza, which represents the most just cause on earth."
5. AN EXCLUSIVE SOURCE TO AL-MAYADEEN:
"Yemen will respond to the 'israeli' enemy's aggression. The war has become direct with the occupying entity."
"The operations in [occupied] Yaffa (so-called 'Tel Aviv') will continue, & Yemen will not be content with just a response; the Yemeni army's target bank may expand."
6. YEMENI DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION:
"After the 'israeli' airstrikes in Yemen, our response to the Americans & 'israelis' will be very harsh."
Some analysts have speculated that, what with Israel announcing its intentions to launch an all out war on Hezbollah in Lebanon, that some of the escalation that we're seeing from Yemen, and Hezbollah, may be to take advantage of Israel's current weaknesses, and possibly to incite Israel into acting sooner than it should.
UPDATE: Reports are coming in that Hezbollah have launched strikes of their own:
Allegedly, Yemen has given the following warning:
This also comes just over a week after:
Western Yemen comes under heavy attack by US-British warplanesMeanwhile, amidst its efforts to foment a world war, Israel continues its genocide:
And on it goes, until WWIII.