New Delhi: Israeli warplanes today struck targets around the Houthi-held Red Sea port of Yemen's Hudaydah, retaliating for a drone attack on Tel Aviv by the Iran-backed rebels that killed a man and exposed a vulnerability in Israeli air defences. The rebels claimed that three people had been killed in the strikes, which triggered a raging fire and plumes of black smoke.
Called Operation 'Outstretched Arm', these strikes are the furthest from the Israel territory ever conducted by their Air Force, the country said. This is the first attack claimed by Israel in the Arabian peninsula's poorest country.
"This operation struck targets 1,800 kilometres from our borders," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement. "It clarifies to our enemies that there is no place where the long arm of the State of Israel won't reach."
Explaining the strikes, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in a statement said that it struck targets around the Yemen port as it serves as an "entryway of Iranian weapons for the Houthi terrorist regime and as a significant economic source for them."
"Over the past few months, the Houthis have been operating in order to destabilise the Middle East. The Houthi terror attacks are funded and directed by Iran, harming the maritime freedom in the area, regional ports, the Suez Canal and global trade as a whole," the IDF added.
The Israeli strikes killed three people and wounded 87, the rebel-run health ministry said in a statement carried by Huthi media. The ministry said earlier that most of the wounded had severe burns.
Footage aired by the rebels' Al-Masirah television showed casualties being treated in hospital, many of them bandaged and lying on stretchers in packed rooms.
A man interviewed by the broadcaster said many of the wounded were port employees. "The city is dark, people are on the streets, petrol stations are closed and seeing long queues," he said.
The Houthis started targeting Israel with drones and missiles shortly after the war between Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza began in October. None of those attacks are believed to have caused significant damage in Israel until now, with most projectiles being intercepted or failing to reach the country.
Houthi rebels say they're acting in solidarity with Palestinians and will continue the attacks until there's a ceasefire in Gaza.