Israel says its military has attacked Houthi targets at three ports and a power plant in Yemen.
Defence minister Israel Katz confirmed the strikes, saying they were carried out due to repeated attacks by the Iranian-backed rebel group on Israel.
Mr Katz said the Israeli military attacked the Galaxy Leader ship which he claimed was hijacked by the Houthis and was being used for “terrorist activities in the Red Sea”.
A bridge crane damaged by Israeli airstrikes last year in the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. Pic: Reuters
It came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an evacuation warning for people at Hodeidah, Ras Issa, and Salif ports – as well as the Ras al Khatib power station, which it said is controlled by Houthi rebels.
The IDF said it would carry out airstrikes on those areas due to “military activities being carried out there”.
Afterwards, Mr Katz confirmed the strikes at the ports and power plant.
Earlier in the day, a ship was reportedly set on fire after being attacked in the Red Sea.
A private security company said the assault, off the southwest coast of Yemen, resembled that of the Houthi militant group.
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It was the first such incident reported in the vital shipping corridor since mid-April.
The vessel, identified as the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas, had taken on water after being hit by sea drones, maritime security sources said. The crew later abandoned the ship.
The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership called an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors.
The Houthis paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the US launched an assault against the rebels in mid-March.
That ended weeks later and the Houthis have not attacked a vessel, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel.
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A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in US and Western forces to the area.
The ship attack comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East.
A possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance and Iran is weighing up whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear programme.
It follows American airstrikes last month, which targeted its most-sensitive atomic sites amid an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic that ended after 12 days.
How did the Houthis come to control much of Yemen?
A civil war erupted in Yemen in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa.
Worried by the growing influence of Shia Iran along its border, Saudi Arabia led a Western-backed coalition in March 2015, which intervened in support of the Saudi-backed government.
The Houthis established control over much of the north and other large population centres, while the internationally recognised government based itself in the port city of Aden.