Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that “the Houthis are learning and will learn the hard way,” threatening that “whoever harms Israel will pay a heavy price.”

Netanyahu added in a video statement: “The Air Force attacked strategic Houthi targets at dawn today in the port of Hodeidah and in the depths of Yemen. We did so in response to the Houthis’ repeated attacks on civilian targets in Israel.” 

He continued that the Houthis “attacked a school in (Ramat Gan) last night,” adding: “They are not only attacking us, but they are attacking the whole world. Attacking international shipping and trade routes. Therefore, when Israel acts against the Houthis, it is acting on behalf of society.” The Americans are well aware of this, as are many others

Netanyahu pointed out that, “After Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Assad regime in Syria, the Houthis are almost the last remaining arm of the Iranian axis of evil,” adding, “They are learning, and will learn, the hard way, that anyone who harms Israel will pay a heavy price for that.” .

On Thursday morning, the Israeli army announced that it had launched a series of air strikes on sites in the capital, Sanaa, and the city of Hodeidah on the Mediterranean coast, which it said were focused on “military targets” belonging to the Houthis.

The army issued a statement in which it said that its warplanes launched “a series of raids that targeted military targets of the terrorist Houthi regime in the western coastal sector, and deep in Yemen.”

The Israeli Defense Minister, Yisrael Katz, last night, from the Air Force Command Center, approved the attack plans against “a series of strategic infrastructure” of the Houthis, in the western coastal strip and deep in Yemen, according to a statement issued by the Office of the Minister of Defense.< /p>

Katz said: “Tonight, we once again attacked strategic targets of the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen. I warn the leaders of the Houthi terrorist organization that Israel’s long hand will reach you as well.”

He continued: “Whoever harms us will be harmed seven times. We will not accept launching missiles at Israel or harming the shipping lanes. We will strike forcefully and will not allow the state of fire and threats against the State of Israel to continue.”

A security source confirmed to Al-Hurra that the Israeli army “had been preparing for some time to carry out an attack” against the Houthis in Yemen, especially with the increasing incidents of the group launching drones and missiles towards Israel.

The army decided to launch the attack at dawn on Thursday “for operational considerations,” according to the source, who confirmed that “at the time the missile (launched by the Houthis) was intercepted, Israeli aircraft were in the air.”

For its part, the Houthi group, which is classified on US terrorist lists, announced that Israel targeted, at dawn on Thursday, the two central Haziz and Dhahaban power stations in the south and north of the capital, Sanaa.

The Iranian-backed group explained that civil defense teams were able to extinguish the fire at the Dhahban station, north of the capital, and continued their work at the Haziz station, south of the capital.

The Israeli raids also targeted the port of Hodeidah and the Ras Issa oil facility in the Hodeidah Governorate, west of the country. The Houthis said that the targeting resulted in the injury of two employees at the Ras Issa facility.

This came shortly after the Israeli army announced, earlier Thursday, the interception of a missile launched from Yemen towards Israeli territory

The Houthis in Yemen have launched drones and missiles at Israel on a regular basis since the start of the Gaza War in October 2023, which they say is in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

They also targeted cargo ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which they say are “linked to or headed to Israel,” but the majority of the ships targeted have nothing to do with Israel.

These attacks on cargo ships greatly disrupted this vital trade route.