The Houthi-affiliated Saba news agency reported that "the capital, Sana'a, is currently being subjected to a new Israeli aggression," while the group later claimed that the aggression had resulted in the deaths of two people and the injury of 48 others as a result of the raids.
The group added that the aggression targeted the Dhahban power station and a residential neighborhood in Sana'a, as well as residential neighborhoods in the Al Nahdain and Haddah areas in the As Sab'een district, and Al Raqas Street in the Ma'in district.
For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement: "We have dealt a decisive blow to several Houthi targets in Sanaa."
He claimed that the attack targeted "several military camps, including a camp for the Houthi General Staff, killing dozens of their personnel and destroying drone and weapons stores," despite the Houthis' assertion that the targeted areas were "residential neighborhoods."
A later statement by the Israeli military claimed that the attack focused on locations where a number of the group's leaders had gathered to watch a recorded speech by its leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. The Houthi-affiliated Ministry of Defense denied that any leaders were targeted in the raids.
The army also claimed that the raids "came in light of the Houthi regime-led attacks against the State of Israel, which include the launching of drones and surface-to-surface missiles towards Israeli territory."
This escalation comes days after Israel announced it had bombed Sanaa in response to Houthi missiles fired toward its territory. It also comes a day after Israel announced that a drone launched from Yemen targeted the southern Israeli city of Eilat, injuring 50 Israelis, including three in critical condition, after the Israeli military failed to intercept the drone.
The Houthis are attacking Israel with missiles and drones, targeting ships linked to or heading toward it. They claim their attacks are in response to the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip over the past two years.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving 65,502 martyrs and 167,376 wounded, most of them children and women, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 442 Palestinians, including 147 children.
