DOHA, May 29. /TASS/. Houthi rebels from Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement plan to increase the effectiveness and impact of their strikes on Israeli territory, the movement’s leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a speech, aired by Al Masirah TV channel.

"Our goal is to bolster support for the people of Palestine; at the next stage, our operations against the Israeli adversary will be even more effective and impactful," al-Houthi noted.

He also assured that Israeli strikes on Sanaa Airport "will not stop Houthi operations" nor force Ansar Allah to abandon its support for the Palestinians.

After the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip in 2023, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian group Hamas in the embattled enclave. The Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The attacks ceased following the introduction of a ceasefire regime in the Palestinian enclave in mid-January of this year. However, after the ceasefire was derailed in early March, the Houthis declared the resumption of strikes on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea and resumed their attempts to attack Israeli targets, including Ben Gurion Airport.

On May 28, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that Israeli warplanes had attacked Sanaa International Airport and the aircraft belonging to Ansar Allah. The Israeli side insisted that the planes were used by the Houthis "for the transfer of terrorists who advanced terrorist attacks against the state of Israel." In turn, Sanaa International Airport Director General Khaled Al-Shayef said that Israel had eliminated Yemenia Airways’ last aircraft. According to him, the airliner was making three flights per day: one to Jordan and two to Riyadh to carry pilgrims, as a result of the strikes 800 pilgrims were unable to perform Hajj.