TEL AVIV, July 21. /TASS/. Israel is poised to defend itself by all means and any attacker will pay dearly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out an air raid on Houthi targets in Yemen.

"Do not doubt Israel's determination to defend itself on every front. All those who seek to harm us will pay a very heavy price for their aggression," he said in a special video address. "All those who seek a more secure and stable Middle East should fully support Israel's actions against <…> [Iran and its allies] in Yemen, in Gaza, in Lebanon and elsewhere."

Netanyahu said that early on July 20 he "asked the Israeli cabinet to back my decision to strike against the Houthi targets in Yemen."

"The port that was targeted is not an innocent port. It’s used as their entry point for weapons that are supplied by Iran to <> Houthi." In his words, the Houthis "have used those weapons to attack Israel, to attack Arab states in the region, to attack many others."

"The international community must redouble its efforts to protect this vital waterway and to hold both the Houthis and their Iranian sponsors accountable for their aggression," the Israeli premier added.

According to Netanyahu, the air raid on Yemen "comes in direct response to the killer drone attack yesterday that killed one person and injured several others, a hundred yards from the US Consulate in Tel Aviv," as well as for other Houthi attacks, who launched hundreds of drones, ballistic and cruise missiles towards Israel since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

A while ago, planes of the Israeli Air Force attack the Yemen’s port city of Hudaydah, located on the Red Sea coast. The air raid left at least three people dead and around 80 wounded. According to Al Masirah, the Israeli Air Force targeted oil tanks in the port, as well as the city power plant. In addition, the airstrike targeted the military police building in the northern part of Hudaydah. A powerful fire broke out at the port, which remains unextinguished at this point.

The Al Hadath television reported that at least 12 Israeli warplanes, including F-35 fighter jets, took part in the attack.

In the early hours of July 19, an explosion was heard in downtown Tel Aviv. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) press service said the explosion was "caused by the falling of an aerial target, and no sirens were activated." Yemen’s rebel Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it used an advanced drone that can penetrate air defenses.