Rebels in Yemen threaten Israel, new escalation linked to war in Gaza

Yemeni rebels threatened Israel on Sunday ;euml;l of a “huge response” & its deadly strikes against the port of Hodeida, still in flames, in a new regional escalation linked to the war in Gaza, entered ;e in her tenth month.

In this explosive context, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet American President Joe Biden on Tuesday in Washington before a speech the next day to Congress, to try to strengthen ties with the United States, undermined by the conflict in Gaza, triggered on October 7 by an attack by Palestinian Hamas in Israel.

Allies of Iran, Israel's sworn enemy, the Yemeni Houthi rebels as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah have opened fronts with Israel, in “support” of the Palestinians of small Palestinian territory, besieged and shelled relentlessly since October 7.

The day after a deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv carried out by the Houthis, the air force Israeli bombed the strategic port of Hodeida held by rebels in western Yemen at war on Saturday, killing six people and wounding dozens, according to the insurgents.

The Israeli military claimed that the targeted port area served as a “main supply route for the delivery of Iranian weapons from Iran to Yemen” including “the drone used” against Tel Aviv.

Israel: drone attack in Tel Aviv © AFP – Omar KAMAL

As firefighters work to put out the massive blaze caused by Israeli raids at the port of Hodeida, a key entry point for fuel and humanitarian aid into Yemen, the Houthis have reiterated their threats against Israel.

“The response to Israeli aggression against our country is inevitable and will be enormous,” warned their military spokesperson, Yahya Saree.

Other operations against the Houthis will follow “if they dare attack us”, declared Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

– Missile intercepted –

After the port strike, the first claimed by Israel in Yemen, the Israeli army indicated having intercepted a missile coming from Yemen “which was approaching Israel”, towards the seaside resort of Eilat (south).

An Israeli police officer cleans up broken glass after an explosion caused by a drone attack, in Tel Aviv on July 19, 2024. © AFP – GIL COHEN-MAGEN

Yahya Saree confirmed missile strikes against Eilat.

At war since 2014 against the Houthis who control large parts of Yemen, the Yemeni government, recognized by the international community and supported by Saudi Arabia, condemned the Israeli raids.

But he also warned the rebels against dragging Yemen into “senseless battles that serve the interests of the Iranian regime and its expansionist project”.

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– The port is burning –

In Tehran, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned “the attacks of the Zionist regime” in Yemen and said it held Israel and its allies, whose United States “responsible for the dangerous consequences of the continuation of crimes in Gaza and attacks on Yemen”.

Meanwhile in Hodeida, fuel tanks and a power plant electrical are still on fire, according to a port employee.

Thick plumes of black smoke cover the port area, noted an AFP correspondent.

Huge fire at an oil storage facility at the port of Hodeida in Yemen, caused by Israeli strikes, July 20, 2024 © AFP – –

“There are fears that poorly equipped firefighters will not be able to contain the spread of the fire” for several days, said Mohammed Albasha, a Middle East analyst for the American group Navanti, warning that food storage facilities could be affected.

This raises fears of worsening shortages in this poor country on the Arabian Peninsula where the war has caused a major humanitarian crisis.

– Fronts in Gaza and Lebanon –

Columns of smoke after a rocket fired from southern Lebanon fell on the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel, July 21, 2024 © AFP – Jalaa MAREY

Since November, the Houthis have carried out attacks on ships said to be linked to Israel off the coast of Yemen, and have fired missiles against Israeli towns, most of which have been intercepted.

Much closer than Yemen, located approximately 1,800 km from Israel, the front with Hezbollah in Lebanon is marked by almost daily hostilities on the common border.

On Sunday, the Israeli army bombed two “Hezbollah weapons storage” depots in southern Lebanon. She then reported the fall of rockets fired from Lebanon in northern Israel.

Despite the international community's fears of a regional conflagration, the war in Gaza is experiencing no respite with the continuation of the devastating Israeli offensive.

On Sunday, Israeli soldiers carried out a large operation in Rafah (south) with intense bombings and fighting with Hamas.

© AFP – Bashar TALEB

According to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government, 38,983 people have died in Gaza, most of them civilians, since October 7.

On that day, Hamas – considered terrorist by Israel, the United States and the European Union – carried out an attack in southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count established using official Israeli data.

Of the 251 people then kidnapped, 116 are still being held in Gaza, including 42 are dead, according to the army.

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