Israel strikes Yemen's Sanaa a day after Eilat drone attack

SANAA (Dunya News/Reuters) – The Israeli military carried out large-scale airstrikes in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Thursday, targeting multiple compounds linked to Houthi forces.

The operation came just a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone strike on a hotel in the Israeli Red Sea resort city of Eilat, which left at least 20 people injured, according to Israel’s national ambulance service.

Arab media reported that the Israeli Air Force struck 13 sites in the Bab al-Yemen district and the busy 70 Square in Sanaa. Targets included the Houthi general staff headquarters, military camps, as well as security and intelligence compounds. The strikes were concentrated in the southern and western parts of the city, though details of casualties or damage have yet to be confirmed.

In a statement, Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said: “We have now delivered a powerful strike on numerous terror targets of the Houthi terror organization in Sanaa.”

The military confirmed the attack as part of its ongoing operations against Houthi militants, who have been locked in more than a year of cross-border strikes with Israel amid the wider war in Gaza.

The bombardment coincided with a pre-recorded speech by Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, which was being broadcast at the time of the strikes. Yemeni residents told Reuters that explosions could be heard across multiple neighbourhoods, sending shockwaves through densely populated areas of the capital.