Israel Pounds Huthi-Held Yemen Port Amid Intensifying Cross-Border Strikes
Israeli strikes on Hodeida port spark fresh cross-border exchanges as the UN shifts its top Yemen official from Houthi-held Sanaa to Aden amid mass detentions of aid workers.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Israel on Tuesday carried out a series of air strikes on Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeida, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Houthi movement, in the latest escalation of a conflict that has increasingly spilled across borders since the Gaza war erupted last year.
The Israeli military said it targeted “a military infrastructure site belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime at the Hodeida port,” accusing the rebels of using the facility to transfer Iranian weapons for attacks on Israel and its allies. The strikes came after warnings for civilians to evacuate the area.
🎯STRUCK: A Houthi military infrastructure site at the Hudaydah Port in Yemen.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 16, 2025
The port is used for the transfer of weapons supplied by the Iranian regime, in order to execute attacks against Israel and its allies.
The IDF continues to strike military targets in Yemen in… pic.twitter.com/Jec372Ez0O
The Huthis’ Al-Masirah television reported 12 Israeli raids on Hodeida. Military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group’s air defenses had confronted “Israeli enemy aircraft launching an aggression against our country.”
A truck driver at the port told AFP he fled following the Israeli warning. “Other civilians working there have also left,” he added.
Later in the day, Israel said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen that triggered air raid sirens in Jerusalem and central Israel. The Houthis claimed responsibility, announcing a ballistic missile attack on the Jaffa region near Tel Aviv, alongside drone strikes aimed at Ramon airport in southern Israel.
“Any attempt to attack the State of Israel will be met with painful blows,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned in a statement on X.
Escalating Campaign
The latest strikes follow weeks of intensifying Israeli operations in Yemen. On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes struck Houthi media facilities in Sanaa and targets in Jawf province, killing 46 and wounding more than 160, according to the rebels.
In August, an Israeli raid near Sanaa killed Houthi prime minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, nine ministers, and two other cabinet officials — the most high-profile assassinations of Houthi leaders since hostilities with Israel began nearly two years ago.
The Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, have launched waves of drones and missiles at Israel since October 2023 in what they call solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has retaliated with repeated strikes on Yemeni infrastructure, including ports, power plants, and Sanaa’s airport.
UN Relocates Humanitarian Coordinator
The violence comes as the United Nations announced the relocation of its top humanitarian coordinator for Yemen from Houthi-held Sanaa to the government-controlled city of Aden.
The move follows the detention of dozens of UN and NGO staff by the rebels in recent months. Yemen’s internationally recognized government welcomed the decision and urged other UN agencies to follow suit.
“The Resident Coordinator will maintain a presence in Sanaa and travel across the country, including there,” a UN spokesperson said.
The World Food Program reported Tuesday that 44 aid workers, including 21 of its staff, are being arbitrarily detained by the Houthis.
The UN has confirmed that 21 of its personnel remain in rebel custody since late August, in addition to 23 current and former NGO staff.
Ten years of civil war have left Yemen — the Arab world’s poorest nation — mired in what the UN describes as one of the worst humanitarian crises globally, with millions dependent on aid for survival.
