Senior CNN reporter, Nic Robertson, joined the attack flight to Yemen on Monday. In an article published this afternoon Robertson said that he “was on an old refueling plane and flew with the crew over the Red Sea.”
According to him, "The Israeli invitation to join this mission came without any details of the plane's destination. As I climb the plane’s rickety steps, I have no idea where I am going or what this IDF flight will reveal about military operations."
Robertson also said that he was accompanied by Nadav Shoshani from the IDF but due to security procedures, both were instructed to leave their communication devices and cameras outside the plane.
He was given access to talk to the plane's commanders, on condition that he promised not to reveal their names.
"Even without a camera, this access is the only up-close opportunity to scrutinize and speak with those on the front lines of Israel’s several-front war," he said, adding that “For more than an hour and half, Israeli F35 fighter jets, each worth more than $100 million, close in behind the 707 tanker, nudging toward its trailing fuel pipe.
During the flight he talked with the experienced pilot in refueling flights and only then realized that he was on his way to Yemen: "When he shows me a map of the mission, I realize we are on the way to Hodeidah Port in Yemen, controlled by Houthi rebels, backed by Iran."
"Shoshani tells me the reason for this mission, is that over the past two weeks the Houthis have fired three long-range missiles, all intercepted near Tel Aviv," he concluded.