After Houthi rebels attacked a commercial ship, Israel responded by bombing Yemen. This was the first attack on a commercial ship in months. Israel attacked ports and a power plant around midnight local time Sunday night into Monday morning.

Attacks On Shipping Vessels In The Red Sea Have Returned

This was the first attack on Houthi targets since the ceasefire with Iran was agreed upon by both sides. The strikes come after at least three Houthi ballistic missiles were launched at Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including one missile that was intercepted Saturday.

“Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a statement following the strikes, according to a report by CNN. 

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were part of the newly named Operation “Black Flag.” In a statement on social media, Katz said, “The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions” and promised more attacks would follow if the Houthis kept launching drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.

The Houthi military confirmed the strikes in a short statement early Monday morning, saying: “Yemeni air defenses effectively confronted the Israeli aggression,” using a massive barrage of locally manufactured surface-to-air missiles.

In May, the Houthi group – which controls much of northern and central Yemen – agreed to halt attacks on US warships in the Red Sea after more than a month of airstrikes by US forces on its strongholds and missile infrastructure.

But it did not pledge to end attacks on other shipping with alleged connections to Israel and has continued to fire ballistic missiles at Israel in support of the Palestinian population in Gaza. –CNN

As Israel intensifies attacks on Yemen in response to Houthi rebels striking shipping vessels, the ceasefire with Iran is hanging in the balance. Will Israel violate the ceasefire agreement in order to continue to strike the rebel terrorist group? What do you think? We want to hear from you! Leave us a comment and start or join the discussion!