Israel strikes Yemen’s capital, targeting Iran-backed Houthis

Israeli air strikes hit Yemen’s capital on Sunday, just days after the Houthi rebels fired a missile towards Israel that its military described as the first cluster bomb the rebels had fired at it since 2023.

The Iranian-backed Houthis said the strikes hit multiple areas across Sanaa, including a power plant and a gas station. Two people were killed and five others were wounded in a strike on an oil company, the rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite television reported. Video on social media showed a fireball erupting there.

Israel’s military said it struck the Asar and Hizaz power plants, calling them “a significant electricity supply facility for military activities”, along with a military site where the presidential palace is located.

Sanaa residents said they heard loud explosions close to a closed military academy and the presidential palace. They said they could see plumes of smoke near Sabeen Square, a central gathering place in the capital.

“The sounds of explosions were very strong,” said Hussein Mohamed, who lives close to the presidential palace.

Ahmed al-Mekhlafy said he felt the sheer force of the strikes. “The house was rocked, and the windows were shattered,” he said.