'Hodeidah Not an Innocent Port, Was Used for Military Purposes': PM Netanyahu on Israel's Attack

New Delhi: In response to Yemen's attack on Israel's Tel Aviv, in solidarity with the Palestinians, Israel launched airstrikes on the Hodeidah Port of Yemen, targeting the Houthi rebels. 

Claiming responsibility of this attack, PM Netanyahu has justified it and has said that the port was attacked because it was not ‘innocent’ and was used for military purposes.

Israel PM Netanyahu on Israel's Attack on Hodeidah Port

In a statement, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Hodeidah Port was ‘not an innocent port’.

He further said, ““It was used for military purposes, it was used as an entry point for deadly weapons supplied to the Houthis by Iran.”

‘There Is No Place Where Israel Will Not Reach’

“It makes it clear to our enemies that there is no place that the long arm of the state of Israel will not reach”, added PM Netanyahu highlighting the ‘power and determination’ of the nation.

‘First Time They Harmed An Israeli Citizen, We Struck Them’

“The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement.

Israeli Airstrikes Targeting Houthi

The Israeli army said Saturday it has struck several Houthi targets in western Yemen following a fatal drone attack by the rebel group in Tel Aviv the previous day.

The Israeli strikes appeared to be the first on Yemeni soil since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, and they threatened to open a new front in the region as Israel battles proxies of Iran.

A number of “military targets” were hit in the western port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold, the Israeli army said, adding that its attack was in response to “hundreds of attacks” against Israel in recent months.

The Ministry of Health in Sanaa said that 80 people were wounded in a preliminary toll of the strikes in Hodeidah and three including a child lost their lives, most of them with severe burns.

(Inputs from AP)