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Middle East conflict

Ansar Allah leader says Houthis carried out 38 anti-Israeli operations in past two weeks

Abdel Malik al-Houthi said two Israeli commercial ships were attacked in the Red Sea

DUBAI, September 11. /TASS/. The leader of Yemen’s rebel Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement, Abdel Malik al-Houthi, said his movement carried out 38 military operations against Israel in the past two weeks.

"Over the past two weeks, a total of 38 operations were carried out, including with the use of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles," he said in a speech aired by Houthi-owned Al Masirah television.

"23 drones struck multiple targets in Hader, Jaffa, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Negev and Umm al-Rashrash [Arab name of Eilat]," he said. "One of the successful operations was aimed against the airport which the Israeli enemy calls Ramon Airport. Another important operation targeted Lod Airport [Ben Gurion Airport]."

Besides, the rebel leader said two Israeli commercial ships were attacked in the Red Sea.

Following the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip in 2023, the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (the Houthis) warned Israel that it would shell its 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 radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. Since mid-November 2023, dozens of civilian ships have been attacked by the Houthi in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

After a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in the Gaza Strip, the Yemeni rebels suspended strikes on Israel but following the breakdown of the ceasefire, the Houthis resumed attacks on ships associated with Israel and on targets in Israel’s territory. In response, Israel carried out numerous strikes on Houthi infrastructure sites, including Sanaa Airport and ports along the Red Sea coast.

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