Israel attacks Yemen’s Sanaa airport; Houthis say won’t deter Gaza support

Israel says it has launched air strikes on Yemen’s main airport in the capital, Sanaa, a day after Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired two projectiles towards Israel.

The Houthi-affiliated news outlet Al Masirah TV reported on Wednesday that four strikes hit the runway.

Khaled al-Shaief, general director of Sanaa International Airport, wrote on X that the strike had completely destroyed the last of the civilian planes that Yemenia Airways was operating from the airport.

According to aviation data checked by Al Jazeera, the Yemenia plane was scheduled to take those performing the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

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— Khaled alshaief خالد الشايف (@KAlshaief) May 28, 2025

Defence Minister Israel Katz said that the Israeli air force struck Houthi “terror targets” at the airport and “destroyed the last aircraft remaining”.

“This is a clear message and a continuation of our policy: Whoever fires at the State of Israel will pay a heavy price,” Katz said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that any harm directed at Israel will meet greater force.

“But, as I have said more than once, the Houthis are only the symptom. The main driving force behind them is Iran, which is responsible for the aggression emanating from Yemen,” Netanyahu added.

The leader of the Houthis, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said the attack was to pressure the group on their steadfast stance of solidarity in supporting Palestinians suffering under Israeli fire in Gaza.

“No matter the size of Israeli aggression and no matter how often it repeats, it will not affect our people’s stance in supporting the Palestinian people. The Israeli enemy remained in a weak position following the cessation of American aggression due to its failure,” he said.

“The Israeli enemy is trying to restore deterrence through this repeated aggression on civilian facilities in our country,” he added.

The attack comes a day after the Houthi armed group fired two projectiles towards Israel that were shot down by Israeli air defences. The Houthis later confirmed that they had launched two “ballistic missiles”.

Sanaa airport, the largest in Yemen, came back into service last week after temporary repairs and runway restoration following previous Israeli attacks.

It was mainly used by United Nations aircraft and the only remaining civilian aircraft of Yemenia Airways, after three others were destroyed in the last attack.

Since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted Israel. Last week, they warned they would impose a “naval blockade” on the Israeli port of Haifa after Israel ramped up its military offensive in Gaza.

As well as the attacks on Israel, the Houthis had fired upon shipping vessels in the Red Sea since November 2023, which had led to retaliatory military attacks by the United States and United Kingdom since January 2024.

However, earlier this month, the US agreed on a ceasefire with the Houthis, ending weeks of intense attacks on Houthi strongholds in Yemen.