Hodeidah [Yemen], July 21: Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's port city of Hodeidah killed three people and injured 87 others, the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV reported early on Sunday, citing the Health Ministry.
Earlier reports did not cite a death toll and said 80 people were injured.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his decision to launch airstrikes on Houthi military infrastructure at a port in western Yemen.
"The port that was targeted is not an innocent port," Netanyahu said in a video statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.
"It's used as the entry point for weapons that are supplied by Iran to its Houthi terrorist proxies," Netanyahu said. "The Houthis have used those weapons to attack Israel, to attack Arab states in the region, to attack many others."
The Israeli prime minister confirmed that targeting the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah was in retaliation for the Houthi's drone attack Friday in Tel Aviv.
"The aggression of the Houthis goes beyond that single attack. For the past eight months, the Houthis have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against Israel," he said.
Netanyahu thanked the United States, Britain, France and other members of the international maritime coalition that was created to repel Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
"More than defensive action is needed to curtail the Houthis, offensive action is also needed. It's needed to ensure that Iran's terror proxies pay a price for their brazen aggression," he said.
Netanyahu closed the video with a message for Israel's enemies, saying: "Make no mistake. We will defend ourselves by all means, on all fronts."
Houthi-affiliated TV: At least 80 hurt in Israel strikes on Hodeidah
At least 80 people were wounded in Israeli airstrikes on targets in Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi-affiliated TV channel said, citing the Health Ministry.
Al-Masirah TV said most of those injured had severe burns.
The channel did not immediately report any deaths.
A correspondent for the AFP news agency in Hodeida reported hearing several large explosions and seeing smoke over the port.
Al-Masirah showed footage of casualties being treated in hospital, many of them bandaged and lying on stretchers in packed rooms.
The broadcaster interviewed a man who said many of the wounded were port employees.
Israel's military said it targeted the military infrastructure of Yemen's Houthi rebels in airstrikes on the war-torn country, DW's correspondent Tania Kramer said from Israel.
She was speaking after Israeli fighter jets struck the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Saturday.
"They [the Israeli military] described them [the targets] as military infrastructure, infrastructure of dual-use and energy infrastructure," Kramer added.
Israel carried out the attacks in apparent retaliation for a Houthi drone strike on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Friday that killed one person.
As well as targeting shipping in the Red Sea in recent months, the Iran-backed Houthis have struck Israel's southern city of Eilat over the past month with over 220 drones, Kramer said.
But she said Friday's Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv was a "change of equation" for Israel.
Kramer cited Israeli officials as saying, "the time for restraint is over."
Israel strikes Yemen after deadly Tel Aviv attack
Hezbollah, Hamas fire rockets at northern Israel, IDF says
The Israeli military said dozens of rockets were launched from Lebanon on northern Israel on Saturday, marking a new high in hostilities with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that around 45 projectiles were detected after being fired from Lebanon in three barrages. Some were intercepted and the others fell in open areas, the military said.
The strikes came a day after Israeli missiles hit southern Lebanon, injuring several civilians.
Israel said Saturday's attacks were directed at the Golan Heights, where they started fires and caused other damage to buildings. No one was injured.
The Israeli military told the EFE news agency that Hezbollah launched at least 80 rockets against Israel on Friday, in at least 16 attacks.
Hezbollah and Israel have traded near-daily fire since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7.
Source: Times of Oman
