Iran Criticises Israel’s Attack on Yemen’s Hodeidah Port

Picture courtesy: (AFP) Israeli warplanes on Saturday attacked the vital port of Hodeidah in retaliation for a deadly drone strike by the Iran-backed Houthis on Tel Aviv.

(The Post News)- Iran has criticised Israel following a deadly retaliatory attack on the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah in western Yemen, a stronghold for the Houthis.

The attack resulted in six deaths and injured more than 80 people.

Nasser Kanani, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, “firmly criticised” the attack on Saturday, condemning it as an example of the aggressive behaviour of what he referred to as the “child-killing Israeli regime.”

Kanani continues to state that Israel, including its supporters, and the United States were directly accountable for the dangerous and unpredictable result of the crimes in Gaza as well as the assault on Yemen.

Israeli warplanes on Saturday attacked the vital port of Hodeidah in retaliation for a deadly drone strike by the Iran-backed Houthis on Tel Aviv that had left at least one civilian killed.

The Houthi-run health ministry said more than 80 people were injured in the Israeli attack, most of them suffering from severe burns.

Regional tensions have increased since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October, drawing in Iran-backed militant groups in Syria and Iraq, including Lebanon and Yemen.

Analysts stated that the attack had alerted a raging fire that had plumes of black smoke, which was the first claimed by Israel in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, around 2,000 kilometres away.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the blood of Israeli citizens has a consequence, adding that more attacks will be directed at the Houthis if they dare to retaliate against them.

The Hodeidah attack was also a warning to other Iran-backed armed groups throughout the Middle East that have claimed attacks on Israel during the Gaza conflict.

“The fire that had burned in Hodeidah is seen around the Middle East, and its importance is clear,” he said.
Daniel Hagari, the spokesperson for the Israeli military, stated that the F-15 jets after the attack had all come back safely to base.

Top Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam reported on a social media statement that cruel Israeli aggression towards Yemen followed the attack, which was aimed at the “fuel storage facilities, including the power plant,” in Hodeidah to pressure Yemen to withdraw its support for Palestinians in the Gaza war.

United Nations (U.N.) Chief Antonio Guterres had requested “full restraint” following the Tel Aviv drone strike to avoid additional escalation of the conflict in the region.