Yemen's Houthi rebels said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted the rebel capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida, after several days of Houthi airstrikes in Israel.
The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports at Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib along with power stations.
It came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Houthis will also learn what the regime of Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad and others have learned. “
Netanyahu reviewed the new strikes with military leaders, his government said. The Iran-backed Houthis' media group confirmed the strikes in a Telegram post but did not immediately provide details.
The US military has also targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days. The United Nations has noted that the ports are important entry points for humanitarian aid.
Over the weekend, 16 people were injured when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli jets hit Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks.
The Houthis have also targeted shipping on the Red Sea corridor, saying it is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli strike kills five journalists IDF says were terrorists
Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, according to the region's Ministry of Health. The Israeli military said the five were terrorists posing as reporters.
The strike hit a car outside Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The journalists were working at the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel linked to the Islamic Jihad militant group.
The Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad is a smaller and more isolated ally of Hamas, and participated in its October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
The Israeli military identified four of the men as militant propagandists and said intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, had confirmed the five were linked to the group.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militant groups in Palestine operate political, media and charitable activities in addition to their armed wings.
Associated Press photos showed the burned-out shell of a van, with news signs visible on the back doors. Sobbing young men attended the funeral outside the hospital. The bodies were wrapped in linen, with blue bush robes draped over them.
Medics said the five were among at least 21 people killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Palestinian territory before dawn.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says that more than 130 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the start of the war. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military bases.
Israel has consistently denied targeting journalists and says it takes measures to prevent civilians.
Israel blames Hamas trade for ceasefire delay
On Wednesday, Hamas and Israel traded blame for not finalizing a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in recent days.
Hamas said that Israel had laid down further conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of going back on an understanding that had already been reached.
“The occupation has set new conditions related to the withdrawal, cease-fire, prisoners and the return of the expelled, which has delayed the reaching of the available agreement,” said Hamas.
Netanyahu responded in a statement: “The terrorist group Hamas continues to lie, rejects an understanding that has already been reached, and continues to create problems in the negotiations.”
Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,300 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million have disappeared and much of Gaza is in ruins.
The war was sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
