Escalation Reaches Sana’a
Middle East tensions ratcheted up on Sunday as Israeli warplanes bombed the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, killing four individuals and wounding at least 67, Houthi health authorities reported. The strikes came directly in response to missiles fired toward Israel by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, highlighting the escalating spillover from the Gaza war.
The Israeli air force stated that its warplanes bombed a military complex comprising the presidential palace, two power stations and a fuel depot. Houthi officials termed the victims as a “near-final toll,” although they cautioned that the figures would possibly increase.
First-of-its-Kind Missile Threat
The attacks came after Friday’s announcement by the Houthis that they had launched a ballistic missile towards Israel a missile which Israeli officials claimed delivered multiple submunitions to detonate upon impact. An Israeli Air Force spokesman confirmed that this was the first time such a weapon had been fired from Yemen, prompting concerns over increasing capabilities of Iran-aligned rebels.
Israel characterized the counterattacks as a direct response to “repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians.” The statement emphasized the Houthis’ recent efforts at launching surface-to-surface missiles and armed drones into Israeli territory, with most of them intercepted.
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Solidarity With Gaza Continues
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, the Houthis have attempted to reposition themselves as central players in the regional arena by attacking Red Sea shipping lanes and firing at Israel with missiles. They claim these are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Abdul Qader al-Murtada, a top Houthi official, reaffirmed that view on Sunday, stating the group would never give up Palestinians “no matter what sacrifices.” The Houthis now hold most of Yemen’s population and continue to be a key force in the country’s long conflict.
The new attacks on Sana’a represent another escalation of the intensifying war between Israel and the Houthis, which poses a risk to further destabilize already unstable surroundings in which the war in Gaza has become a hotspot of wider clashes.
