Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital on Sunday, just days after the Houthi rebels fired a missile toward Israel that its military described as the primary cluster bomb the rebels had fired at it since 2023.
The Iranian-backed Houthis said the strikes hit multiple areas across Sanaa. The Houthi-run health ministry said that not less than two people were killed and 35 others were wounded.
The rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite television reported a strike on an oil company, and video on social media showed a fireball erupting there.
Israel’s military said it struck the Asar and Hizaz power plants, calling them “a major electricity supply facility for military activities,” together with a military site where the presidential palace is positioned.
Sanaa residents told The Associated Press they heard loud explosions near a closed military academy and the presidential palace. They said they may see plumes of smoke near Sabeen Square, a central gathering place within the capital.
“The sounds of explosions were very strong,” said Hussein Mohamed, who lives near the presidential palace.
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Ahmed al-Mekhlafy said he felt the sheer force of the strikes. “The home was rocked, and the windows were shattered,” he told the AP by phone.
The Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships within the Red Sea for over 22 months, saying they’re attacking in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza.
Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, claimed the most recent airstrikes won’t deter the rebels, and vowed to proceed attacks on Israel.
“Our military operations supporting Gaza won’t stop, God willing, unless the aggression is stopped, and the siege is lifted,” he wrote on social media.
The Israeli strikes were the primary to hit Yemen since every week ago, when Israel said it targeted energy infrastructure it believed was utilized by the rebels.
The newest strikes follow the Houthis’ claim of launching a newly equipped missile toward Israel on Friday, including targeting the country’s largest airport, Ben Gurion. There was no reported damage or injuries. Israel’s military said it fragmented mid-air after several interception attempts.
An Israeli Air Force official, speaking on condition of anonymity according to military regulations, called the projectile fired on Friday a brand new threat. It was a cluster munition, he said, meant to detonate into multiple explosives on impact.
Using cluster bombs makes Israeli interception harder and represents additional technology provided to the Houthis by Iran, the official asserted.
The official said over 10 Israeli fighter jets carried out Sunday’s strikes.
Houthi attacks over the past two years have upended shipping within the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of products passes annually.
From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted greater than 100 ships with missiles and drones. The rebels stopped their attacks during a transient ceasefire in Gaza and later became the goal of a weekslong airstrike campaign ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In May, the USA announced a cope with the Houthis to finish the airstrikes in return for an end to shipping attacks, although the rebel group said the agreement didn’t include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.
In May, Israeli airstrikes hit the Sanaa airport in a rare daytime attack that destroyed the terminal and left craters in its runway. Not less than six passenger planes were hit, including three belonging to Yemenia Airways, in accordance with airport authorities.
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