A Houthi political official said the group would continue to attack Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians despite escalating Israeli airstrikes in Yemen.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti told the BBC that the Houthis would “escalate our military attacks on Israel” until what he described as “the genocide in Gaza” is ended.
On Thursday, Israeli warplanes attacked the international airport in the Yemeni capital Sanaa as well as ports and power plants on the Red Sea coast, killing at least four people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that his response to more than a year of missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed group is “just beginning.”
Overnight, the Houthis fired another ballistic missile at Israel, which the Israeli military said was intercepted before it reached Israeli territory.
The UN Secretary-General said he was “deeply concerned” about the increasing escalation.
He also called the attacks on the airport and ports “particularly alarming” and warned that they posed “significant risks to humanitarian operations” in the war-torn country.
The Houthis, who control northwest Yemen, began attacks on Israel and international shipping shortly after the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023.
Israel has carried out four rounds of airstrikes against the Houthis since July in retaliation for the 400 rockets and drones that the Israeli military said were fired into the country from Yemen, most of which were shot down.
The US and Britain also carried out airstrikes in Yemen in response to the group’s attacks on dozens of merchant ships in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
EPAMohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said on the BBC’s Newshour on Friday that the Yemenis are now “heading for direct confrontation” with the US, Britain and Israel after fighting against their “tools” in Yemen. had fought what he called a decades-long civil war. He appeared to be referring to the Saudi-led coalition that intervened to support the Yemeni government when the Houthis seized control of Sanaa in 2015.
“We are determined to continue our military operation in support of the Gaza Strip and we will not stop until the crimes of genocide and the siege of the Gaza Strip end. We will increase our military attacks on Israel,” he said. Israel has vehemently denied that its forces in Gaza are committing genocide against Palestinians.
Bukhaiti said the Houthis did not need the support of Iran, whose allies Hamas and Hezbollah have been devastated by wars with Israel over the past 14 months.
“We have enough capabilities – military, economic and even in terms of popular support – to get through this fight, even if we are on our own,” he stressed.
He also said the Houthis expected escalation from the US after President-elect Donald Trump took office next month, but warned it would “backfire”.
Israel’s prime minister said Thursday evening that his country had “attacked targets of the Houthi terrorist organization” as part of what he called a “war of redemption.”
“We are determined to cut off this terrorist arm of Iran’s axis of evil. We will remain persistent until we get the job done,” Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, warned that Israel would “take down all Houthi leaders,” as it had already done with the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah.
U.N. spokeswoman Stéphanie Tremblay said Secretary-General António Guterres remained “deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation in the region and reiterates his call on all parties concerned to cease all military actions and exercise utmost restraint.”
The Israeli military said its airstrikes targeted Houthi “military infrastructure” at Sanaa International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power plants, as well as infrastructure at the Red Sea ports of Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Kanatib used for smuggling Iranian goods Weapons were used.
The Houthis’ military spokesman said only civilian facilities were hit and the attacks resulted in fatalities and property damage.
The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported that three people were killed at Sanaa airport and three others in Hudaydah province.
However, the government’s deputy transport minister in Houthi-controlled Yemen, Yahya al-Sayani, put the death toll at four at a news conference on Friday.
He said Sanaa airport’s control tower, departure hall and navigation equipment were hit and damaged, and accused Israel of violating international law and aviation regulations.
The airport strikes came as World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, wanted to board a UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) plane there.
According to Dr. Tedros, a crew member of the UN plane was seriously injured and flown to Jordan on Friday after undergoing surgery at a local hospital.
“My greatest thanks go to the UNHAS team for their service and the rapid evacuation from Yemen,” he wrote on X. “Attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers must stop everywhere.”
The WHO chief had led a high-level delegation to Yemen to assess the humanitarian situation in a country that has the world’s highest cholera rate and where 80% of the population needs some form of assistance. He was also asked to try to negotiate the release of 16 UN staffers held by the Houthis.
It is customary for the United Nations to inform all relevant parties of full details of humanitarian flights. However, the Israeli military told the Associated Press that it was unaware the U.N. delegation was at the airport.
WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said her delegation was “in contact with all relevant parties to establish the facts” surrounding the incident.
