Jerusalem [Israel], May 7: The Israeli military carried out an airstrike on Yemen's main airport in Sanaa on Tuesday, its second attack in two days on Iran-aligned Houthi rebels after a surge in tensions between the group and Israel.
Three people were killed in the strike, according to Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.
Israel warned people to leave the area around Sanaa International Airport before Tuesday's attack, which it said targeted Houthi infrastructure and "fully disabled the airport".
Witnesses later reported four strikes in the capital.
Tensions have been high since the Gaza war began, but have risen further since a Houthi missile landed near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday.
"A short while ago, IDF (Israel Defence Forces) fighter jets struck and dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure at the main airport in Sanaa, fully disabling the airport," the Israeli military said.
"The strike was carried out in response to the attack launched by the Houthi terrorist regime against Ben Gurion Airport. Flight runways, aircraft, and infrastructure at the airport were struck."
Three airport sources told Reuters that the strikes targeted three civilian airplanes, the departures hall, the airport runway, and a military air base under Houthi control.
The Israeli military said the airport had been "a central hub for the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons and operatives."
In a statement carried by al-Masirah, the Houthis said:
"The operations of our armed forces will continue and the support by Yemen to Palestine will only end with the end of the aggression and siege against Gaza."
The United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said on X that the latest hostilities "mark a grave escalation in an already fragile and volatile regional context".
An official at Yemen's flag carrier, Yemenia Airways, told Reuters that three of its aircraft were destroyed according to an initial assessment.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
