US, Britain launch raids on Yemeni capital Sanaa

The United States and Britain launched raids on the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the Amran governorate and other areas, Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement, reported on Sunday.

Houthi media and residents said about nine raids had targeted the Sanaa, its suburbs and Amran governorate.

Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November last year, in solidarity with the Palestinians in Israel’s war with Hamas.

The attacks have drawn U.S. and British retaliatory strikes and disrupted global trade as ship owners reroute vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to sail the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.

On October 3, Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they carried out a drone attack on Tel Aviv, although there was no confirmation from Israeli authorities.

In a statement, the Houthis said they “carried out a military operation targeting a vital target in the Jaffa (Tel Aviv) area in occupied Palestine with a number of Jaffa drones”.

“The operation achieved its goals successfully as the drones reached their targets without the enemy being able to confront or shoot them down.”

The Israeli military said it intercepted “a suspicious aerial target” off central Israel overnight, without giving further details.

Prior to this, the Houthis claimed to have fired cruise missiles at Israel, following Iran’s mass bombardment of the country the night before.

Earlier, the rebels said they fired a missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, prompting Israeli air strikes on Yemen including the vital port of Hodeida.

The Houthis, who have controlled large swathes of war-torn Yemen for a decade, are part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and the United States.

Since November, they have been attacking ships off Yemen’s coast in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.