Yemen’s Houthi group announced on Thursday that they had conducted joint aerial attacks with an Iraqi group, targeting ships in Israel’s port of Haifa. However, the Israeli military denied the claim.
In a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea described the operations as precise and executed with drones. These attacks, according to Sarea, were in retaliation for what he termed as “massacres committed by the Israeli enemy in the (Palestinian) area of Rafah” in Gaza.
Despite the claims, Israeli military sources informed Xinhua news agency that they were “unfamiliar with such an incident.” Additionally, witnesses from companies operating in the Haifa port reported that the port was functioning normally without any disruptions.
Sarea alleged that one operation targeted two ships carrying military equipment, while another targeted a ship that had purportedly violated the Houthi’s entry ban on the port of Haifa. He warned that the Israeli enemy should expect more operations in the future.
The Houthi rebel group, which controls several cities in northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, has been launching anti-ship ballistic missiles and drones since November. These attacks aim to target Israeli-linked ships transiting the Red Sea as a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthi’s assertion of solidarity with Palestinians comes amid ongoing tensions and conflicts in the region, highlighting the broader geopolitical ramifications of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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