Aden, Dec 27 (IANS): Israeli airstrikes targeted key infrastructure and Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen's capital Sanaa and Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, according to media reports.
The strikes reportedly hit Sanaa International Airport and Hezyaz power station, both located in areas under the control of the Houthi group.
Simultaneously, additional targets in Hodeidah were also subjected to Israeli airstrikes, Xinhua news agency reported.
The airstrikes coincided with a televised speech by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
Israel's state-owned Kan TV also reported that Israel launched an intense air attack targeting Sanaa and Hodeidah.
Citing an anonymous Israeli official, Kan TV reported that Israeli warplanes carried out several waves of airstrikes, focusing on Sanaa's airport and Hodeidah's port.
Footage circulating on social media showed large explosions, with black smoke and fire rising above buildings in Yemen.
The strikes were carried out based on an assessment that Houthi forces intended to escalate their attacks on Israel and shipping routes, the Israeli broadcaster said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Thursday that it launched "intelligence-based" airstrikes targeting Houthi-controlled military targets on Yemen's western coast and inland Yemen.
The Israeli warplanes hit Houthi-used infrastructures in the Sanaa International Airport, and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, both located in Houthi-controlled areas, as well as the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib on the western coast, the military said in a statement, claiming that those sites were used by Houthis to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials.
Footage circulating on social media showed large explosions, with black smoke and fire rising above buildings in Yemen.
Jamal Amer, foreign minister of the unrecognized Houthi government, said on social media platform X that the Israeli attack on the Sanaa International Airport killed two employees and injured a few others, including the assistant captain of a UN plane that was about to transport UN officials, including World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Amer said that the WHO chief was present in the VIP lounge of the airport when the strikes occurred, and that no immediate information has been provided on his condition.
An official of the Houthis told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that 10 Israeli airstrikes destroyed fighter jets and helicopters stationed inside the al-Dailami Air Force Base adjoining the airport, which has been rendered non-operational.