The IDF conducted airstrikes on Thursday afternoon against targets in the Houthi-controlled cities of Sanaa and Hudaydah in Yemen.
The strikes were carried out during an address by Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi. Houthi television channel Al-Masirah reported that three individuals were killed and 16 were wounded in the attacks.
The IDF confirmed the attack stating: "A short while ago, following the approval of operational plans by the Chief of the General Staff, the Minister of Defense, and the Prime Minister, IAF fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen. The Houthi terrorist regime has repeatedly attacked the State of Israel and its citizens, including in UAV and surface-to-surface missile attacks on Israeli territory."
The targets that were struck by the IDF include military infrastructure used by the Houthis for their military activities in both the Sanaa International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations. In addition, the IDF struck military infrastructure in the Al-Hudaydah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports on the western coast.
The IDF noted that the military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. "This is a further example of the Houthis' exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes," the IDF stated.
"The Houthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror, and their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world. The Houthi terrorist regime operates as an autonomous terrorist group while relying on Iranian cooperation and funding to carry out its attacks.
"The IDF will not hesitate to operate at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens," the military added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at the Air Force command and control center together with Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi and the Head of the Air Force, Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar, to closely monitor the attack.
"This evening we are lighting the second candle of Hanukkah. We are in the war of redemption, the Maccabees of our time. A short while ago, the Air Force attacked targets of the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, both along the coast and in Sana'a. We are determined to cut off this terrorist arm of Iran's axis of evil. We will persist until we get the job down," Netanyahu stated.
Defense Minister Katz added: "We just saw a precise operation by the IAF, as it struck at strategic Houthi targets in Yemen. As we have said – whoever harms Israel, we will harm them. We will hunt down all of the Houthis' leaders and we will strike them just as we have done in other places. Nobody will be able to evade the long arm of Israel. We will strike at them in order to remove the threats to the State of Israel."
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar commented on the strikes: "The Houthis are a proxy of the Iranian regime and a central part of their axis. Their crippling attacks on international shipping routes upend global stability. We will not tolerate unprovoked aggression from a terrorist army operating 2,000 kilometers away.
"Israel will take all military and diplomatic measures it deems necessary to protect its security."
Commanding Officer of the Israeli Air Force Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar stated: "We have just seen a tangible demonstration of what we are capable of, and we are capable of much more."
During his address, al-Houthi bragged: "Israel's deterrence has failed against our country, despite the strikes against civilian facilities in Sanaa and Hudaydah. The Israeli enemy knows that our operations continue, they are effective and influential. Our missiles, which the [Israeli] defense systems did not succeed in intercepting, have caused great frustration to diplomatic and defense officials in Israel and the US.
"The Israeli media is talking about a sleepless week. This is a new frustration among the Israelis, we launched the hypersonic missiles at night, and many times at very late hours of the night or early in the morning. When there are alarms, millions run from the homes that they occupy and from their cities to shelters."
During a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened the Yemeni rebel group which of late has been escalating its attacks on the the Jewish state.
"Today we are lighting the first candle of Hanukkah to mark the victory of the Maccabees then, and also the victory of 'the Maccabees of today,'" Netanyahu stated.
"Like then, we are striking at our enemies, and those who thought they could cut the thread of our lives here then, this will apply to them all," he continued.
The Prime Minister added: "The Houthis will also learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and others have learned, and this will also take time. This lesson will be learned across the Middle East, I tell you," and quoting the blessing recited as the Hanukkah lights are lit, he ended with the words "in those days at this time."