Israel: Disabled Yemen's Main Airport  05/07 06:32

   

   JERUSALEM (AP) -- The Israeli military bombed the airport in Yemen's 
rebel-held capital Tuesday, claiming to have disabled the airfield in an attack 
that left commercial aircraft burning on the tarmac as its fighter jets struck 
power plants and other targets.

   The rare daytime attack on Sanaa, held by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi 
rebels since 2014, came as part of a second day of Israeli airstrikes in 
response to a Houthi ballistic missile striking the grounds of Ben-Gurion 
International Airport near Tel Aviv. The Houthis described the Israeli attacks 
as killing at least seven people and wounding 74 others over two days.

   But the future of American attacks on the Houthis, who have pledged to 
continue to target Israel, was thrown into question after U.S. President Donald 
Trump said America would stop striking the Houthis. Trump described the rebels 
as having "capitulated" and agreed to stop targeting shipping in the Red Sea, 
though the rebels did not specifically acknowledge such a pledge.

   "We indirectly informed the Americans that the continued escalation will 
affect the criminal Trump's visit to the region, and we have not informed them 
of anything else," said Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi's supreme political 
council, in a statement carried by the rebel-controlled SABA news agency early 
Wednesday. Trump is due to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab 
Emirates next week.

   Badr al-Busaidi, the foreign minister of Oman who mediated between the U.S. 
and the Houthis, also is mediating between America and Iran over Tehran's 
rapidly advancing nuclear program.

   "Today's news about the situation in the Red Sea means that diplomatic 
efforts have lead to the end to the conflict between the US and Ansar Allah in 
Yemen," al-Busaidi wrote on the social platform X, using another name for the 
Houthis. "They will no longer target each other, ensuring freedom of navigation 
for international commercial shipping in the Red Sea."

   Israeli attack leaves Sanaa airport in ruins

   The strikes in Sanaa came shortly after Israel's military warned on social 
media that people should leave the area immediately, saying that "failure to 
evacuate the area endangers your lives." The explosions from the strikes echoed 
across Sanaa, sending the public fleeing to find cover as thick black smoke 
rose over the skyline.

   The Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel later aired footage from the 
airport, showing its terminal's windows blown out, with concrete blocks exposed 
and a fire burning inside. On its runway, aircraft associated with the state 
carrier Yemenia burned.

   The airline later said three of its planes had been "taken out of service" 
in the attack, though those abroad in Jordan were untouched. The Israeli strike 
came after its flight to Amman on Tuesday took off.

   Other strikes hit a cement plant and power plants, the Houthis and Israelis 
both said. On Monday, Israel targeted Houthi rebels in Yemen's Red Sea province 
of Hodeida, hitting a key port there and another cement factory.

   Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, said the strike should be seen as a 
warning to the "head of the Iranian octopus," which he said bears direct 
responsibility for attacks by the Houthis against Israel.

   The Israeli airstrikes involved some 50 bombs and "dozens" of aircraft, the 
Israeli military said. It also required mid-air refueling to reach Sanaa, 
showing their reach also to Iran as Israel has threatened to strike Tehran's 
nuclear enrichment sites.

   Houthi attacks on Israel linked to war in Gaza

   Sunday's missile attack struck an access road near Israel's main airport 
near Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were 
slightly injured. It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of 
Ben-Gurion airport since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. While most 
missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some missiles and 
drones have penetrated Israel's air defenses.

   The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity 
with Palestinians there, while also targeting commercial and naval vessels on 
the Red Sea. That raised their profile both at home amid Yemen's decadelong war 
and abroad as the last member of Iran's self-described "Axis of Resistance" 
capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.

   The U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said the latest strikes 
carried out on Israel and Yemen's airport marked a "grave escalation in an 
already fragile and volatile regional context." He urged the parties to show 
restraint.

   In March, Trump had vowed to use "overwhelming lethal force" after the 
Houthis said they would resume attacks on ships sailing off Yemen in response 
to Israel's mounting another blockade on the Gaza Strip.

   Trump told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. "will stop the bombings. They 
have capitulated, but more importantly, we will take their word that they say 
they will not be blowing up ships anymore." Trump added, "I think that's very 
positive. They were knocking out a lot of ships."

   Data from Lloyd's List suggests larger shipping firms are slowly beginning 
to return to the Red Sea, though traffic through the waterway that once saw $1 
trillion in goods a year pass through it remains low.

   Israel has repeatedly targeted the Houthis. It struck Hodeida and its oil 
infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and 
wounded 10 in Tel Aviv.

   In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people 
after a missile targeted Ben-Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin 
Netanyahu was returning to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at 
least nine people in Hodeida.

   Also Tuesday, Israel continued its strikes in Gaza. At least 18 people were 
killed, including children, when a school sheltering displaced people was hit 
in Bureij, according to Khalil Al- Dokran, spokesperson for al-Aqsa Hospital, 
where some of the bodies were taken.