Houthis vow 'huge' response to deadly Israeli strike in Yemen

The Houthi movement in Yemen on Sunday promised a "huge" retaliation against Israel for a deadly strike on the port of Hodeida, as regional fallout widens from months of war in Gaza.

The Israeli strike, the first claimed by Israel in Yemen, set oil tanks ablaze at the vital port and came a day after the first fatal attack by the Houthis in Israel.

On Sunday, Israel said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen and struck targets in southern Lebanon. Residents of southern Gaza reported combat in the Rafah area.

The fighting across the region came ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trip this week to Washington, which has been trying to secure a ceasefire in the more than nine-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

On Sunday, Netanyahu's office said he was sending a negotiating team – it was unclear where – for new talks on a deal under which hostages held by Hamas would be freed.

But Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry warned Israel's attack on Hodeida "aggravates the current tension in the region and halts the ongoing efforts to end the war in Gaza."

Also on Sunday, Houthi chief Abdul Malik al-Houthi said the Hodeida strikes would lead to "further escalation and more attacks targeting Israel." He said the deadly Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv had opened "a new phase" in operations.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group's "response to the Israeli aggression against our country is inevitably coming and will be huge."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the fire left raging by the strikes on Houthi-held Hodeida port "is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear."

Gallant warned of further operations if the Houthis "dare to attack us" after their strike hit Tel Aviv, at least 1,800 kilometers from Yemen.

It appeared to be the first to pierce Israel's intricate air defenses but an analyst said Houthi drones do not pose a "strategic threat" to Israel.

In Hodeida, six people were killed and 83 wounded, health officials said in a statement carried by Houthi media.

Hodeida port is a vital entry point for fuel imports and international aid for Houthi-held areas of Yemen, a country where the United Nations says more than half the population needs humanitarian assistance.

Mounting Gaza deaths

Israeli forces pounded several areas across Gaza on Saturday, killing at least 39 Palestinians, according to health officials, as tanks advanced deeper into western and northern Rafah.

Among those killed on Saturday were local journalist Mohammad Abu Jasser, his wife and two children in an Israeli strike on their home in the northern Gaza Strip, a medic said.

Gaza's Hamas-run government media office said Abu Jasser's death raised to 161 the number of Palestinian media personnel killed by Israeli fire since October 7.

In Rafah, where Israel said it aimed to dismantle the last battalions of Hamas' armed wing, residents said tanks advanced deeper into northern areas of the city and took control of a hilltop in the west, amid fierce gun battles with Hamas-led fighters.

The Israeli army said troops continued operations in Rafah, eliminating many gunmen over the past day in the area of Tel Al-Sultan on the western side of the city. In central Gaza, the military said it conducted raids on militants' infrastructure.

The military also said it hit a structure used by Palestinian militants in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip, saying gunmen were operating from a humanitarian area, and accused Gaza militants of exploiting civilian structures and population for military purposes, an allegation Hamas and other groups reject as false to justify such attacks.

Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas after its fighters killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage in an October 7 attack, according to Israeli tallies. At least 38,919 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive since then, Gaza health authorities say.

On Tuesday (July 16), Israel said it had eliminated half the leadership of Hamas' military wing and killed or captured about 14,000 fighters since the start of the war.

Israel says 326 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

Hamas does not release casualty figures and said Israel exaggerates its reports to give the impression of a "fake victory."

(With input from AFP, Reuters)