MAY 6th, 2025 – In a decisive response to a ballistic missile attack on Tel Aviv by Iranian-backed Houthi militants, Israel has launched a series of targeted airstrikes on critical Houthi infrastructure in Yemen, striking both Sanaa International Airport and the strategic Hodeidah port — both reportedly used by the Houthi regime for the transport of weapons and militant operatives.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a base at the Sanaa airport was destroyed, completely shutting down the facility. Additional strikes targeted power stations and industrial sites including the Al-Omran Cement Factory, which the IDF identified as a key Houthi resource for building tunnels and underground military infrastructure.
These actions come after a direct missile strike on Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, launched Sunday from Yemen and claimed by the Houthis. The attack – which briefly grounded flights and caused concern near Tel Aviv – marked a dangerous escalation by Iran’s terrorist proxies.
“We will continue to act forcefully against any threat to the State of Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared following the strikes, vowing to eliminate threats from all actors aligned with Iran’s regional campaign of Islamist terrorism.
Iran’s Expanding Web of Islamist Proxies
The Houthis, who have taken control of much of Yemen, have launched dozens of missiles and drones at Israel and at international shipping in the Red Sea, claiming to act in “solidarity” with Hamas. In reality, these attacks are part of a coordinated Iranian strategy that leverages regional Islamist groups — Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen — to destabilize and threaten Israel without direct Iranian engagement.
Following Hamas’s massacre on October 7, 2023, in which nearly 1,200 Israeli civilians were slaughtered and 251 kidnapped, Israel launched a sustained military campaign to dismantle Hamas’s grip on Gaza. The Houthis and other Iran-aligned groups have since ramped up their attacks on the tiny country, attempting to open new fronts against Israel and entangle the Jewish state in a broader Islamist conflict.
Targeting Dual-Use Infrastructure: A Blow to Houthi Capabilities
Colonel Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, emphasized that the Houthi use of civilian infrastructure like ports and airports for military purposes justifies Israel’s response.
“This is further evidence of how the terrorist Houthi organization exploits civilian infrastructure for terrorist purposes,” Adraee said, highlighting the military value of the cement factory and power stations as part of the group’s war-fighting capability.
The Israeli military confirmed that over 10 precision airstrikes were carried out around Hodeidah port, targeting warehouses, port facilities, and neighbourhoods used to house and coordinate militant operations. Unconfirmed reports suggest that as much as 70% of the port’s infrastructure may have been damaged.
A Coordinated Western Response
The Israeli strikes came just hours after U.S. forces also conducted airstrikes near Sanaa, marking a coordinated Western move against Iran-backed threats. The United States has increased its own military pressure on the Houthis, particularly after repeated drone and missile attacks against U.S. and allied shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis have vowed retaliation. A senior official warned that Israel should prepare for the “unimaginable” – a threat that has only reinforced Israel’s resolve to preemptively dismantle terrorist infrastructure wherever it exists.
Confronting the Islamist Threat Network
Israel’s latest strikes underscore a hardening of policy: direct threats from Iranian proxies will be met with overwhelming force. With Hamas’s capabilities largely dismantled in Gaza, and Hezbollah’s aggressive potential significantly weakened along the northern border, the Houthis now find themselves firmly within the scope of Israel’s evolving defensive doctrine
As Netanyahu made clear: Israel will not allow Tehran and its militant clients to surround and terrorize the Jewish state without consequence.
