The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a coordinated aerial assault on Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen early Friday, targeting infrastructure used to facilitate attacks against Israeli and international shipping, according to the Israeli military.
Fifteen Israeli Air Force fighter jets reportedly dropped over 35 precision-guided munitions on the Red Sea ports of Hodeidah, Al-Salif, and Ras Isa, inflicting what the military described as “severe damage.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were designed to render the ports inoperable for at least one month, effectively disrupting what the IDF called “terror infrastructure” used by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
“These ports are used to transfer weapons and are a further example of the Houthi terrorist regime’s systematic and cynical exploitation of civilian infrastructure,” the IDF stated in an official release. The military added that civilians were warned twice earlier in the week to evacuate the targeted areas.
⭕️ The IDF struck and dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime in the Hudaydah and Salif Ports in Yemen.
These ports are used to transfer weapons and are a further example of the Houthi’s systematic and cynical exploitation of civilian… pic.twitter.com/PGJAB0YenL
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 16, 2025
Local Yemeni media, including the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, reported multiple airstrikes on the western ports of Hodeidah and Salif but did not confirm casualties or provide details on material damage. Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath reported over ten airstrikes in the affected areas. Witnesses observed thick plumes of smoke and fires at Ras Isa following the bombardment.
IDF airstrikes targeted Houthi terror infrastructure in Yemen’s Hodeidah and Al-Salif ports, following earlier strikes on Sanaa airport, as a response to Houthi missile attacks on Israel, including a recent hit near Ben Gurion Airport.
60 ballistic missiles and 310 drones fired… pic.twitter.com/Q9CABMpYen
— dan linnaeus (@DanLinnaeus) May 16, 2025
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the attacks and reiterated that the strikes were part of a broader campaign to deter continued Houthi aggression. “Our pilots have now successfully struck two Houthi terrorist ports again, and this is just the continuation, with more to come,” he said. Netanyahu emphasized that Israeli operations would intensify and could include targeting Houthi leadership and support infrastructure.
The airstrikes follow a series of missile and drone launches by Houthi forces targeting Israeli territory. Since May 6, the Houthis have fired at least seven ballistic missiles and two drones toward Israel, according to the IDF. Notably, a missile struck near Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv earlier this month, damaging infrastructure and injuring several people.
The massive crater created by the Houthi ballistic missile impact this morning near Ben Gurion International Airport in Central Israel. The missile impacted next to an access road outside the airport, with the crater measured to be 25 meters across and several meters deep,… pic.twitter.com/VhmLvWNkmJ
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 4, 2025
Defense Minister Katz warned that continued attacks by the Houthis would provoke broader retaliation.
”If the Houthis continue to fire missiles at the State of Israel, they will suffer painful blows – and the heads of terror will also be hit, just as we did to Daf and the Sinwars in Gaza, to Nasrallah in Beirut, and to Haniyeh in Tehran.” Katz stated on social media.
צה”ל תקף כעת ופגע קשות בנמלים בתימן הנמצאים בשליטת ארגון הטרור החות׳י.
גם שדה התעופה בצנעא עדיין הרוס.
כמו שאמרנו: אם החות׳ים ימשיכו לירות טילים לעבר מדינת ישראל הם יספגו מכות כואבות – ונפגע גם בראשי הטרור כמו שעשינו לדף והסינווארים בעזה, לנסראללה בביירות ולהנייה בטהרן, נצוד… pic.twitter.com/MBGIVupkYC— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 16, 2025
As of Friday evening, no international agencies had reported humanitarian impacts from the strikes, though the targeted ports are key entry points for aid deliveries to western Yemen. The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, previously warned that the region risked becoming a “flashpoint for wider regional tensions” following Israeli retaliatory strikes on Sanaa airport earlier this month.
