Israel launched strikes on ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen early Thursday and threatened more strikes against the Iran-linked militant group, which has fired hundreds of missiles at Israel over the past year.

While Israeli jets were in the air, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile aimed at central Israel that destroyed a school building in the town of Ramat Efal, in what a military spokesman described as falling shrapnel.

The Israeli attack, which involved 14 fighter jets and other aircraft, took place in two waves, with the first series of attacks on the ports of Salif and Ras Issa, and the second series of attacks on the capital Sana’a, military spokesman Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters.

“We have made extensive preparations for these operations with efforts to improve our intelligence and optimize strikes,” he said.

Al Masirah TV, the main Houthi-run broadcaster, said the airstrikes killed nine people, seven in Salif and two at the Ras Issa oil facility, both in the western province of Hodeidah.

In Sana’a, attacks also targeted two central power plants south and north of the capital, which Al Masirah said knocked out power to thousands of families.

The Israeli strikes followed an attack by US aircraft on Monday on a command and control facility run by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen.

Hostilities on the Red Sea

The Houthis — who have launched attacks on international ships near Yemen since November last year in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel’s war with Hamas — said they fired two ballistic missiles at the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on the same night, hitting “precision military targets. “

They also promised to respond to Israeli attacks.

“The Israeli attack will not deter Yemen from responding to this heinous aggression and supporting Gaza,” the group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised speech.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will continue to respond to Houthi attacks.

“Whoever raises a hand against the state of Israel, his hand will be cut off; whoever harms will be harmed sevenfold,” Katz said in a post on X.

The Israeli military said experts were examining the site of the attack in Ramat Efalu and trying to confirm whether one or two rockets were fired.

Some Israeli media reported that a missile had hit the school, but Shoshani said initial indications suggested it was hit by shrapnel.

One possibility was that the fuel tank “which was a huge piece of metal kept going” after the missile was intercepted, he said.

The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023 after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel.

The Houthis captured one vessel and sank two in a campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones were intercepted by separate US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which also included Western military vessels.

WATCH l After protracted civil war, signs point to Iranian support for Houthi attacks (April):

How the Houthis became the main troublemakers of the Middle East

Once a formidable group in Yemen — one of the world’s poorest countries — Iran has helped the Houthis become a major player capable of disrupting global maritime traffic in the Red Sea. CBC’s Paul Hunter describes the rise of the Houthis and what the world needs to watch out for. (Correction: In a previous version of this video, we reported that several countries and entities, including the United Nations, consider Hamas a terrorist organization. In fact, the UN does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.)

The rebels claim they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some that were bound for Iran.

The Houthis have fought a stalemate against a Saudi-led coalition for several years in a wider Yemeni war that has killed more than 150,000 people, including civilians. The conflict has also created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, believed to have killed tens of thousands more.