Israel strikes Houthi-controlled airport in Yemen's capital

Mohammed Hatem and Alisa Odenheimer, Bloomberg News on May 6, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Israeli jets struck the airport in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, two days after a Houthi missile landed close to the international hub in Tel Aviv.

The Israel Defense Forces also launched strikes on several power stations in Sanaa and a cement plant north of the city, it said Tuesday.

Sanaa airport is used by the Iran-backed Houthis to transfer weapons and operatives, the IDF said, while the concrete supplied by the factory helps the U.S.-designated terrorist organization build tunnels and military infrastructure.

Israel and the Houthis have been intermittently exchanging fire since the start of the war against Hamas, with the Islamist group — which took control of Yemen’s capital in 2014 — acting in solidarity with Palestinians. Israel is about 1,700 kilometers (1,060 miles) away from Yemen.

The Houthi attack on Israel’s main airport on Sunday triggered the suspension of flights to and from the country by several major foreign carriers, leaving thousands of Israelis stranded abroad. Some international airlines have halted flights for long periods as a precaution during the war in Gaza.

“The Houthi terrorist regime has been operating for the past year and a half with Iranian guidance and funding to harm Israel and its allies, undermine regional order, and disrupt global freedom of navigation,” the IDF said. “The IDF is determined to continue to act and strike with force anyone who poses a threat to the residents of the State of Israel, and at whatever distance is required.”

Earlier in the day, the IDF warned people to leave Sanaa airport.

“Failure to evacuate and stay away from the place exposes you to danger,” a spokesperson for the IDF said in Arabic on X.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to respond to the missile strike that landed near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, causing some injuries.

The Israeli military said it failed to take down the missile due to a “technical issue” with an interceptor launched by air defense systems.

U.S. President Donald Trump restarted U.S. strikes against the Houthis in mid-March, saying he wanted to stop them attacking commercial vessels and warships in the southern Red Sea, a key waterway for global trade.

Those strikes, and others by the U.K. as well as Israel itself, have so far failed to deter the Houthis.