Yemeni firefighters continued efforts on Monday to contain a blaze in the port city of Hodeidah following an Israeli airstrike on Saturday that killed at least 14 people. The strike was a response to a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv.
Satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed flames engulfing a fuel storage area. The Yemeni Oil Company, which manages the depot, confirmed that six of the deceased were its employees.
Israeli strikes on Hodeidah Port, Yemen
Despite severe damage reports, Yemen's Saba News Agency quoted port officials saying that Hodeidah Port is "operating at full capacity." Nasser Al-Nasiri, a port official, assured that operations were ongoing, with no disruptions to the supply chain for food, medicine or petroleum products.
Houthi-appointed Hodeidah Governor Mohammed Ayash Quhaim said on social media that "port operations resumed at a high pace within 24 hours of the Israeli strike."
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Damages to Hodeidah Port, Yemen after Israeli strikes
(Photo: AFP PHOTO/ SATELLITE IMAGE ©2024 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES)
Abdullah Ibrahim, an oil facility worker, recounted the strike to the Qatari newspaper The New Arab. "Moments before the strike, I left the area toward the port gate, then the flames erupted. All I could think about was my colleagues' fate," he said. "There was no way to help those who were killed; the fire made it impossible."
Abd Al-Samad Al-Walidi, an eyewitness, told the newspaper, "I was with my family near a park when I heard the strikes. Everyone in the park was searching for a safe escape. The children's screams and the raging fire worsened the situation. We had no choice but to flee."
The death toll from the Israeli airstrikes in Hodeidah rose to 14, sources told Sky News Arabic on Monday. Additionally, six people are reported missing, and about 90 are injured. Most of the casualties are city residents working at the port.
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi announced the beginning of a "new phase in the war" following the drone strike in Tel Aviv that killed Yevgeny Perder. He said that the drone attack was the "fifth phase" of Houthi escalation against Israel, previously unannounced.
"We have turned to using new weapons in Operation Jaffa," he said. "This advanced drone has significant tactical and technical capabilities, with a long-range and destructive power surpassing other aircraft."
"Our Palestinian resistance brothers named the drone 'Jaffa.' Its arrival at the administrative centers troubled the enemy. We declare that the Jaffa (Tel Aviv) attack marks the start of the fifth escalation phase, representing a new equation."
Egyptian sources informed the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar that all Egyptian units along the border are on "full alert to monitor Egyptian airspace" following the Israeli strike in Yemen and in anticipation of a Houthi response.
"Air defenses are prepared to shoot down any foreign object entering Egypt," the sources said. They also expressed concerns about the impact on civilian aviation from operations conducted from Yemen toward Israel.
On early Sunday, the Houthis launched a ballistic missile at Eilat, intercepted by the Arrow 3 air defense system, signaling the beginning of a response to the Hodeidah attack.