Israel does not stop attacking the Houthis in Yemen

2024-09-29 22:36:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israel announced it had bombed Houthi targets in Yemen on Sunday, widening its confrontation with Iran's allies in the region, two days after it killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. The airstrikes targeted Yemen's Hodeidah port in response to Houthi missile strikes on Israel in recent days. This development has increased fears that the fighting in the Middle East could get out of control and draw Iran and Israel's main ally, the United States of America, into conflict.

The Houthi-run health ministry said at least 4 people were killed and 29 wounded by Israeli strikes. The attacks came as Israel hit more targets in Lebanon, where two weeks of intensified bombing have killed a string of senior leaders.

Hezbollah and have driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Israel vowed on Sunday to continue its offensive.

"He has lost his head and we must continue to hit Hezbollah hard," said Israel's chief of military staff, Herzi Halevi. Lebanon's Health Ministry said that on Sunday alone, Israeli strikes had killed 32 people in Ain Deleb in the south, 21 people in Baalbek-Hermel in the east, and that 14 doctors had been killed in airstrikes over the past two days.

Israeli drones flew over Beirut overnight, and for much of Sunday, loud explosions from fresh airstrikes echoed around the Lebanese capital. Hezbollah and Israel had exchanged rockets from across the border since the start of the Gaza war, which was sparked by an October 7 attack by Hamas militants.

Yemen's Houthis had launched sporadic attacks on Israel throughout that time, even cutting off shipping in the Red Sea. Israel rapidly stepped up its attacks on Hezbollah two weeks ago in a bid to make the northern areas safe for residents to return to their homes, killing many of the group's leadership. Israel's defense minister said that the expansion of the offensive is now being discussed.
Nasrallah's death dealt a particularly significant blow to the group he led for 32 years. Iran said his death would be rewarded. The United States has sought a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Lebanon, but has also authorized its military to build up in the region in a sign of growing concern.

US President Joe Biden, asked if an all-out war in the Middle East can be avoided, said: "It has to happen." He said he would talk to Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, but gave no further details. US Senator Mark Kelly, who heads a Senate Armed Services subcommittee, said the bomb Israel used to kill Nasrallah was a US-made 900kg guided weapon.

In Iran, which helped create Hezbollah in the early 1980s, senior figures mourned the death of a senior Revolutionary Guard member killed alongside Nasrallah, and Tehran called for a UN Security Council meeting on Israel's actions. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei moved to a safe place in Iran after Nasrallah's assassination, sources told Reuters.