After dealing devastating blows to militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, Israel is now directing its military prowess at another key force backed by Iran: the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

On Friday, Israel said it had attacked Yemen's international airport in the capital of Sanaa as well as several power plants and seaports, all under Houthi control. That followed Houthi firing of rockets into Israel, one hitting a school. And later Friday, the Houthis said they had targeted Israel's airport, although that missile was apparently intercepted.

At least nine people were reported killed in Yemen and 16 were injured in Israel in attacks and counterattacks over the last week or so as the two sides ramped up their long-simmering conflict.

The Israeli attack on Yemen's airport on Thursday took place as the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, waited to board a flight. He was not injured but United Nations officials said aid supplies destined for besieged Yemenis would be interrupted. Israel said the airport was being used by Iran to smuggle weapons to the Houthis.

Israel sought and will receive a rare hearing at the U.N. Security Council on Monday to discuss the Houthi conflict, Israel's ambassador to the world body, Danny Danon, told The Times. Normally other countries call for sessions to criticize Israel, but Israel was able to take advantage of the U.S. position as the rotating chair of the Security Council.

Danon said he would ask the council to formally condemn the Houthis but remained skeptical of any meaningful action, especially given the veto power held by China and Russia.

"We intend to point out to Iran and the Houthis what happened to Hamas," Danon said in a telephone interview from New York, site of U.N. headquarters. "It seems that the Houthis have not yet understood what happens to those who try to harm the State of Israel. ... We are not playing around."

The battle in Yemen has often taken a back seat to other explosive, roiling conflicts in the Middle East. For more than a decade, the Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and other Western powers, has fought Houthi rebels backed by Iran. More than a quarter of a million people have died in attacks and because of food shortages and other humanitarian crises.

The Houthis are one piece of the so-called axis of resistance, a constellation of Iran proxies arrayed around Israel and dedicated to its destruction as well as their own nationalist causes.

Over the last 14 months, Israel has pounded Hamas in the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands of fighters and civilian Palestinians. The war began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.

This fall, Israel destroyed much of the leadership and infrastructure of Hezbollah, a militant and political faction in Lebanon that had increased rocket attacks into Israel that it says are in support of Hamas.

Israel has also exchanged missile barrages with the main backer of Hamas and Hezbollah, Iran. Airstrikes reportedly crippled much of Iran's defensive capabilities.

Separately, Israel's other Iran-backed nemesis, the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, collapsed this month under pressure from an assortment of rebel groups, the strongest backed by Turkey.

"The Middle East has changed," Danon said.

What remained were the Houthis. Also claiming they were acting in support of Hamas in the Gaza war, they launched a series of missile attacks on ships traversing the Red Sea as part of a major commerce chain.

The Biden administration also launched airstrikes on the Houthis earlier this year in response to the attacks on sea vessels and has tried to assemble a collection of countries to protect shipping lanes from the Houthis.

"We’ve tried to raise the consciousness of countries, not only in the region but well beyond, of the damage that the Houthi actions are having to international commerce in real and meaningful ways," Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said at the Council on Foreign Relations this month.

"The rise of the Houthis ... has gotten them to a place where they have assets that have built up, that they have not been shy about using," Blinken said. "My concern ... is that even when we get to the point where the conflict in Gaza is over, [the Houthis] may well continue, because they put themselves on the world stage."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to an Israeli television news channel this week, made clear that the Houthis in Yemen are the next front line.

“We will strike them to the bitter end, until they learn,” Netanyahu said. “Hamas learned, Hezbollah learned, and Syria learned. The Houthis will learn, too.”

https://www.amazon.com/Africircle-AfriPrime/dp/B0D2M3F2JT

US anti-missile THAAD system in Israel used to intercept projectile from Yemen

An advanced U.S. military anti-missile system was used in Israel to try to intercept a projectile for the first time since President Joe Biden placed the system in Israel in October, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

The THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, was used to try to intercept a projectile from Yemen sometime during the last 24 hours, and an analysis would determine its success, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen on Thursday, including Sanaa International Airport, and Houthi media said at least six people were killed.

Houthis have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In October, Biden placed the THAAD system, built by Lockheed Martin, in Israel along with about 100 U.S. soldiers to help defend the country. THAAD is a critical part of the U.S. military's layered air defense systems and added to Israel's already formidable anti-missile defenses.

After the Israeli airstrikes the top U.N. aid official in Yemen, Julien Harneis, said on Friday that Sanaa airport was civilian infrastructure used by international aid workers to access the north of Yemen, warning: "If that airport is disabled, it will paralyze humanitarian operations."

"Parties to the conflict have an obligation to ensure that they are not striking a civilian target," he told reporters. "We don't need to prove we're civilians. They need to prove that they are hitting a military target. Sanaa Airport has not been a military target since 2016."

The United Nations says more than half Yemen's population - some 18 million people - need humanitarian help. Harneis told reporters that is expected to rise to 19 million next year due to worsening economic conditions in the country.

He also said airstrikes on Hodeidah port were particularly concerning as it was "absolutely vital" because Yemen imports about 80% of its foodstuffs.

"It's a civilian facility, there is no doubt about that, and the U.N. works to ensure that and any damage to it will lead to massive suffering for Yemenis," Harneis said.

https://www.amazon.com/Africircle-AfriPrime/dp/B0D2M3F2JT

Airstrikes target Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital Sana'a

Explosions shook the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Friday, as airstrikes targeted military sites belonging to the Iran-allied Houthi militia, local residents reported.

Residents told dpa that they heard loud explosions in the city, with targeted sites reportedly including military camps, they said.

It was initially not clear who carried out the attacks.

The Houthi-affiliated television al-Masirah reported that a US-British "aggression" had targeted a park in the Ma'een district west of Sana'a. There was no confirmation from the US or Britain.

Israeli military sources said that their forces were not involved.

No information was initially available about casualties.

The reported attack came a day after Israeli fighter jets conducted a series of strikes in Yemen including on the international airport in Sana'a and several ports in response to Houthi attacks.

The Houthis are allied with Israel's arch-enemy Iran, like Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

Since the onset of the Gaza war more than a year ago, the Houthis have targeted Israel and merchant vessels in the Red Sea, stating these actions are in solidarity with Gaza.

In response to the attacks on shipping, the US and Britain have in recent months carried out several military strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen.