Israel Strikes Yemen’s Capital, Netanyahu Warns Houthis Of ‘Heavy Price’

Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, early Sunday (24 August) killed at least six people and wounded 86 others, according to Houthi-run media, the Hindustan Times reported.

The strikes targeted a military compound housing the presidential palace, a fuel depot, and two power stations, triggering a massive fireball and columns of thick smoke over the rebel-held city.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking from the Air Force command centre in Tel Aviv, vowed to intensify operations against the Iran-backed Houthis, who have been launching missiles and drones toward Israel and attacking ships in the Red Sea for nearly two years.

“Whoever attacks us, we will attack him. Whoever plans to attack us, we attack him,” Netanyahu said, warning the Houthis they are “paying a very heavy price.”

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Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed the strikes had destroyed the Houthi presidential palace and key infrastructure used to “promote terrorism,” while reaffirming that Israel would retaliate many times over for each Houthi attack.

The latest escalation followed an Israeli military investigation into a Friday night (22 August) missile attack from Yemen, which revealed the Houthis had, for the first time, used a projectile carrying a cluster bomb warhead.

An Air Force official said such munitions are more difficult to intercept and “represent additional technology provided to the Houthis by Iran.”

This marked the first Israeli strike on Sanaa since 17 August, when energy facilities linked to the Houthis were targeted.

The group says its attacks are carried out in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Gaza conflict.

Most projectiles fired at Israel have been intercepted, but officials in Tel Aviv say the Houthis’ adoption of cluster munitions signals a dangerous escalation in the conflict.

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