The air force undertook a joint counterstrike of the Houthis in Yemen along with the US on Monday night following the ballistic missile strike near Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday.During the strike, about 20 fighter jets were part of the attack, during which 50 munitions were dropped on Houthi targets in total.This is the sixth Israeli airstrike on the Houthis since July 2024, following over 400 attacks by the Iranian proxy on Israel over the course of the war.
Just before 9 p.m., the IDF formally acknowledged attacking the Houthis around the Hodeidah seaport on the Red Sea coast, approximately 2,000 km. away.Targets included the port, which the IDF noted serves as a major source of income for the Houthi regime. “The Hodeidah seaport is used to transfer Iranian weapons, equipment for military needs, and other terrorist needs.”
In addition, the military said, “The Bajil concrete factory east of the city of Hodeidah was attacked, which serves as an important economic resource for the Houthi terrorist regime and is used to build tunnels and military infrastructure.”Next, the IDF stated, “The Houthi terrorist regime has been operating for the past year and a half under Iranian direction and funding in order to harm Israel and its allies, undermine the regional order, and disrupt global freedom of navigation. The IDF is determined to continue to act and strike forcefully at anyone who poses a threat to the residents and citizens of the State of Israel, and at whatever distance is required.”Earlier in the evening, the US coordinated with Israel its own strike against the Houthis at Sanaa.Israel’s last counterstrike against the Houthis was on January 11, before US President Donald Trump took office.Since then, Israel has hoped that over 1,000 airstrikes by the US under Trump would be sufficient to stop Houthi attacks on Israel without Jerusalem getting directly involved.
The largest coordinated airstrikes
However, the Houthis' successful hit near Ben Gurion shook up that calculation.
As with Monday night’s attack in Yemen, on January 11, more than 20 Israeli aircraft partook in dropping around 50 munitions on terror targets in Yemen.During that attack, Israel’s air force, in coordination with the United States and Britain, conducted what were the largest coordinated airstrikes of the war against the Houthis in Yemen up until that time, targeting a Houthi power station and two ports used by the Iran-backed group.
The targets Israel struck included military infrastructure sites at Hezyaz power station, and military infrastructure in the Hodeidah and Ras Issa ports on the Western coast.The coalition was expected to attack weapons facilities, control and command bases, and underground places, while Israel struck the Houthis’ economic facilities, which have military and civilian use, such as ports, airports, and power plants.Airstrikes on Yemen’s port of Ras Issa targeted oil storage facilities in the vicinity of the shipping berths, and no merchant vessels were reported to have been damaged, British security firm Ambrey said.According to reports, the 12 strikes north of the capital were conducted by the US and UK on underground infrastructure belonging to the Houthis.
A strike also reportedly hit Sana'a's main square during the weekly protests at the time in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.