Army: Response to attacks: Israel fires rockets at Houthi positions in Yemen

Israeli rockets hit Yemen's capital, Sanaa, hitting power plants and a Houthis military complex, among other targets. The militia had previously attacked Israel, reportedly using cluster munitions for the first time.

Following renewed rocket attacks from Yemen, the Israeli army attacked Houthi militia positions in Yemen's capital, Sanaa. "The attacks were carried out in response to repeated attacks by the terrorist Houthi regime against the State of Israel and its civilian population," the army stated. According to Israeli media reports, the Houthis used cluster munitions for the first time in their latest attack on Israel.

The Israeli army said the attacks targeted two power plants and a fuel depot, as well as a military complex housing the presidential palace. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed the targets. "The terrorist Houthi regime is learning the hard way that it will pay—and has already paid—a very high price for its aggression against the State of Israel," it said.

The Israeli attack followed renewed Houthi rocket attacks on Israeli territory. The army stated that the Houthis had been shelling Israeli territory in recent days, using surface-to-surface missiles and drones, among other methods. Late Friday evening, the Houthis fired a rocket that "most likely fragmented in mid-air."

Houthi rocket reportedly contained cluster munitions

As the Times of Israel and the news site Ynet reported, the rocket fired by the Houthis was allegedly equipped with a warhead containing cluster munitions. It was the first time a rocket equipped with such munitions has been fired from Yemen at Israel. Cluster munitions are bombs or rockets that release numerous explosive devices. Many of these do not explode immediately, but sometimes only years later. In this way, cluster munitions mine large areas and pose a long-term threat to civilians, rescue workers, and clearance personnel.

The Houthis' Saba news agency, citing the Houthi Health Ministry, reported that six people were killed and 86 others injured in the Israeli attacks, 20 of whom were in critical condition. In a statement from its political bureau, the militia vowed retaliation. The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli attacks.

The Houthis, who control much of Yemen, are funded by Iran. Along with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the militia is part of the Iranian-led "Axis of Resistance" directed against Israel and the United States. Its stated goal is the destruction of Israel.