Israeli warplanes bombed the main international airport in Yemen again on Wednesday in retaliation for recent missile attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
A devastating Israeli airstrike earlier this month on the same airport, which serves the capital, Sana, caused extensive damage, and flights were suspended for more than a week. The latest strike destroyed the last remaining aircraft at the airport used by the Houthi government, according to Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, and the airport’s director.
“They destroyed it entirely,” the airport’s director, Khaled al-Shaief, said of the plane. He shared on social media a photograph of burning wreckage with fire trucks attempting to extinguish the blaze, saying the plane had been the last aircraft belonging to the national airline at the Sana airport.
The Sana airport is a vital link for more than 20 million Yemenis in Houthi-held areas, providing access to lifesaving medical treatment, medicine and aid.
The Houthis, who control most of northwestern Yemen, including Sana, have been launching rockets and drones at Israel and targeting ships in the Red Sea since October 2023, in what they call a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Both the Houthis and Hamas in Gaza are part of Iran’s network of proxy militias around the Middle East.
Sirens sounded across Israel several times this week warning of incoming Houthi missiles. The Israeli military said it had intercepted them all.
Earlier this month, a Houthi missile landed near a terminal of Israel’s main international airport, near Tel Aviv. That episode alarmed airlines, and some temporarily suspended operations in Israel.
In response, Israel struck the Sana airport on May 6 and, since then, neither side has shown signs of backing down.
“Whoever harms us, we will harm them,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said after the strike on the Sana airport on Wednesday. He put some of the blame for the Houthi actions on Tehran.
“The main force behind them is Iran, and it is responsible for the aggression emanating from Yemen,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
Mr. Netanyahu’s remarks come as Israel has been threatening a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear program, which it views as an existential danger. Mr. Trump has been pursuing a nuclear deal with Tehran and has rebuffed Israeli urging to launch a joint attack on Iran.
Yemen, located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is the poorest Arab country and endured a bloody civil war that led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Analysts say that Israeli and U.S. attacks have further destabilized the nation and deepened the suffering of Yemeni civilians.
In mid-March, the American military escalated a bombing campaign in Yemen, underway for more than a year, aimed at weakening the Houthis’ ability to target shipping. President Trump pledged at the time that the Houthis would be “completely annihilated.”
But this month, he announced the end of the U.S. bombings, claiming that the Houthis “don’t want to fight anymore.” He did not provide details on whether Washington and the Houthis had reached any kind of understanding.
After Mr. Trump’s remarks, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi politician, said that if the United States halted attacks on Yemen, the Houthis would cease their attacks on “American military fleets and interests.”
However, he said the Houthis would continue other military operations “in support of Gaza” until Israel ended the war.
Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting from Jerusalem, and Vivian Nereim from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Natan Odenheimer is a Times reporter in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
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