On December 26th, Israel struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen, which included the Sana’a International Airport. Houthi media reported that at least six people were killed in the attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 14 that Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the Houthis in Yemen.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director of the World Health Organization, revealed that he was about to board an aircraft when the airport was attacked and one of the plane’s crew members was injured. Tedros was visiting Yemen to evaluate the current humanitarian crisis regarding internal conflicts and widespread famine, as well as to arrange the release of jailed United Nations (U.N.) personnel. In addition to the airport, the Israeli military also damaged nearby power plants and military facilities in the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib on Yemen’s west coast. According to Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Al Masirah TV, the Houthis declared on the day of the attack that they were prepared to react swiftly and meet “escalation with escalation.”
Yemen has been plagued by worsening political and military tensions since the Houthi rebels, officially known as Ansar Allah, took control of the capital city of Sana’a in 2014. The U.N. estimates that more than 18 million people (half of the country’s population) remain dependent on humanitarian assistance and protection. Over 62 percent of households across the country reported not having access to a sufficient food supply, with areas such as Hudaydah and Ta’iz experiencing extremely critical levels of malnutrition.
Hans Grundberg, the U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen, noted that the regional tensions from the war in Gaza continue to further complicate the crisis in Yemen. The U.N. Secretary-General issued a warning about further escalation from Israel and is calling for all parties concerned to cease military actions and exercise utmost restraint. In an interview with Reuters, a U.N. spokesperson said, “He warns that airstrikes on Red Sea ports and Sana’a airport pose grave risks to humanitarian operations at a time when millions of people are in need of life-saving assistance.” The Israeli strikes came a day after the Houthis launched two drones and a ballistic missile towards Tel Aviv, where 16 people were injured when the missile hit a playground. The week before, Israeli jets struck Sana’a and Hodeidah, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks, according to Al Jazeera. Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Minister have both commented on the hostilities, saying that “Yemen will pay a heavy price” for the Houthi attacks on Israel. Reuters reports that international shipping routes have also been disrupted by Houthi strikes for more than a year, forcing businesses and manufacturers to shift their routes to lengthier and more costly voyages to avoid Yemen’s Red Sea Coast, which consequently has increased concerns over global inflation. The Houthis justified their behavior by describing them as “acts of solidarity” with the Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 45,000 people, many of them women and children, have been killed by Israeli forces.
The Times Of Israel reports that Israeli defense officials are skeptical about whether their strikes will have an effect on stopping Houthi attacks without joint action from the United States or other major allies. The United States and the United Kingdom have already been hitting military targets inside of Yemen and will continue to do so as long as Houthi assaults on ships in the Red Sea threaten international maritime security and regional security. On the other hand, several reports coming from the National Intelligence Agency of Israel indicate that Mossad chief David Barnea has been pushing in recent meetings for Israel to instead strike Iran, which supplies the Houthis with weapons and other aid. Iran’s foreign ministry also came out in full support of Yemenis and condemned Israel’s strikes of the Sana’a airport as a violation of peace and security. “These aggressions are a clear violation of international peace and security and an undeniable crime against the heroic and noble people of Yemen, who have not spared any effort to support the oppressed people of Palestine against the occupation and genocide,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqhaei in a recent statement.
A senior U.N. official appealed in a summit on Monday for an end to the hostilities between the Israeli military and Houthi rebels, which have taken “an escalatory turn” in recent weeks, and reiterated the U.N. Secretary-General’s grave concern about conflict escalation. “We appeal to all to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including international and humanitarian law. Humanitarian workers must be protected at all times. We reiterate that attacks originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen must stop,” the official said, while calling for Security Council Resolution 2722 (2024) to be fully respected. The resolution was adopted in January and demands that all attacks in the Red Sea must cease.
The attacks in both Israel and Yemen, as well as in the Red Sea, are of grave concern to the U.N. and other international organizations, as further military escalation could jeopardize regional stability, with adverse political, security, economic and humanitarian repercussions. Despite recent economic de-escalation agreements, Yemen remains at risk of a return to full-scale conflict, with continued fighting and increased rhetoric between the warring sides. Efforts to resolve the Yemeni crisis remain ongoing, with U.N. envoys emphasizing the need for sustained dialogue and collaboration across conflict lines.
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