Israel carried out it first strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen since the Israel-Iran ceasefire, attacking ports and a power plant around midnight local time Sunday night into Monday morning.

The strikes come after at least three Houthi ballistic missiles were launched at Israel after the ceasefire, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) including one missile that was intercepted Saturday.

Israel struck the ports of Hodeida, Ras Isa, Salif and the Ras Kanatib power plant along the Red Sea. The IDF also struck the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship seized by the Houthis in November 2023.

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“Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a statement following the strikes.

A short time before the wave of strikes, the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, issued an evacuation warning for the ports and the power station.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were part of the newly named Operation “Black Flag.” In a statement on social media, Katz said, “The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions” and promised more attacks would follow if the Houthis kept launch drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.

The Houthi military confirmed the strikes but said, “Yemeni air defenses effectively confronted the Israeli aggression,” using, “a massive barrage of locally manufactured surface-to-air missiles,” in a short statement on early Monday morning local.

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There are no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes.

Houthi political bureau member Mohammed Al Farah said targeting Yemeni ports, power stations, and other “civilian facilities is an attempt to harm civilians and has no connection to any military activity,” according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.

The attack comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travels to Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump.

Since Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza started in October 2023, the country has come under fire from missiles and rockets from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, who claim to strike Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.

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The Iran-backed Houthis have also repeatedly targeted commercial and military ships in the Red Sea.

In March, the US carried out extensive strikes on Yemen to degrade the group’s military capabilities.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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Hamas fires rocket volley at southern, central Israel at turn of new year ( Video: Reuters )

As the clock showed midnight and ushered in 2024, Hamas fired a heavy barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip at central and southern Israel.

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An incoming air raid siren was heard in Sderot at precisely midnight, marking the start of 2024. Barrages to the central lowlands activated alerts in Rehovot, Ness Ziona, Be’er Yaakov, Rishon Lezion, Ramla, Lod, Holon, Bat Yam and Mikveh Israel. Alarms were also activated in the communities of Sha’ar HaNegev, Gezer, Brenner, Sdot Dan, Gan Raveh, and Mateh Yehuda regional councils, Holon, Azor, Gedera, and Modi’in.

7 View gallery Air defenses shoot down incoming Gaza rockets over central Israel

The Iron Dome missile defense system shot down multiple incoming threats.

Following the barrage from Gaza, the Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance service reported that there have been no immediate reports of casualties. “MDA teams have been dispatched to scan several locations,” according to a statement.

The UK’s Sunday Times reports that Britain is preparing to join the United States, and possibly another European country, in a planned missile attack against Houthi rebel targets in the Red Sea or in Yemen itself.

A government official in London told the newspaper that the planned attack may include the use of fighter jets of the Royal Air Force or the British destroyer Diamond, which is already operating in the Red Sea and intercepted earlier this month a UAV launched by the Houthis.

The report comes out the same day that 10 Houthi rebels were killed in a U.S. helicopter attack in the Red Sea, port officials in Yemen told the French news agency AFP. “Four survivors arrived in Hodeidah along with two wounded,” said one of the sources on condition of anonymity. Earlier, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that helicopter gunships sank three Houthi rebel boats that attacked a ship that issued a distress call.

7 View gallery A Houthi rebel sits on the bow of the ship “Galaxy Leader” near the coast of Yemen ( Photo: EPA/YAHYA ARHAB )

Meanwhile, the White House addressed the air strike by U.S. military helicopters in the Red Sea, and said that the U.S. is not interested in further expanding the conflict in the Middle East, CNN reported, noting that so far the U.S. has avoided direct damage to the militia operating in Yemen in an attempt to avoid a security escalation.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby commented on the incident Sunday and said that the Americans will continue to act in self-defense. “We are not looking for a confrontation with the Houthis. The best outcome would be for them to stop these attacks, as we have made clear over and over,” Kirby told the ABC network. “We have significant national security interests in the region, and we will deploy the forces we need in the region to protect these interests,” added Kirby, noting that the White House does not rule out a pre-emptive strike. “We made it clear publicly to the Houthis and personally to our partners that we take the threats that are heard seriously, and we will make the decisions accordingly.”

His comments came after the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a pro-Iranian militia in the country, claimed responsibility for attacking a U.S. base near the airport in Erbil in northern Iraq using a UAV.

In the shadow of the escalation of attacks by the Houthis, Tehran’s allies, including trying to take control of a merchant ship in the Red Sea, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahiann threatened Israel. “We will respond with force to any Israeli aggression. Stopping Israeli ships in the Red Sea cannot be considered a threat while Jerusalem is committing crimes in Gaza,” he said. Earlier, the spokesman of the Houthi army confirmed that the 10 Houthi militia fighters were killed, and said that the Houthis do not intend to stop their attacks, in order to impose a naval blockade on Israel.

7 View gallery President Isaac Herzog calls on world leaders to work to free the Gaza hostages in an X post in 10 languages ( Photo: SAUL LOEB / POOL / AFP )

President Isaac Herzog posted a message on the X platform on Sunday afternoon in 10 languages calling for world leaders and people around the world to call and work for the immediate return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. He posted: “As we enter 2024, I call on the entire family of nations, on all world leaders, to demand and work for the immediate, unconditional release of our 133 hostages. Babies, the elderly, women, men, are being held in brutal captivity by Hamas, without vital medication or visitation from the Red Cross. Their immediate release is at the core of our battle with Hamas terrorists in Gaza. May the light dispel the darkness, and may the New Year bring peace, hope, and healing for all.”

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem commented on the international efforts to prevent an escalation on the Lebanese border, saying: “Israel makes many proposals related to northern Israel and southern Lebanon, and tries to show that it has ways to return the residents of the north to their homes and distance Hezbollah from southern Lebanon but it cannot impose its proposals” He added: “If Israel continues the attacks in Lebanon, the response will be stronger and appropriate to the Israeli attacks; Israel’s threats have no value, we are ready.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel will not give up the security control over the Gaza Strip. Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting Netanyahu said there is no need to discuss the day after the war until the war ends and the Strip is demilitarized. “Only the IDF can carry out this mission and we will not give up the right to control security control of the Strip,” he said. “The question of the day after the war would be brought to the approval of the government when the time comes.”

7 View gallery Sergeant major (res.) Eliraz Gabai, Sergeant first class (res.) Liav Seada ( Photo: IDF )

The IDF named Sergeant first class (res.) Liav Seada and Sergeant major (res.) Eliraz Gabai as the latest fatalities among troops, in the fighting in Gaza.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Sunday he told Iranian his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian that Iran shared responsibility for Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.

7 View gallery David Cameron during a visit to the Gaza border area earlier this month ( Photo: Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters )

On Sunday, the U.S. said its navy helicopters sank three Houthi small boats while the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels attempted to board Maersk Hangzhou – a cargo ship sailing of the coast of Al Hodeidah.

“I made clear that Iran shares responsibility for preventing these attacks, given their long-standing support to the Houthis,” Cameron said in a post on social media site X, adding that the attacks “threaten innocent lives and the global economy.”

The Qatari owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper quoted a source close to the hostage negotiations who said the Gaza factions have not reached a decision on the proposed deal that would see the release of dozens of Israeli hostages in exchange for an extended truce. The paper said Hamas was demanding assurances that the fighting would not resume after the hostages are released.

According to the report, an Egyptian delegation traveled to Israel last week to discuss an end to the war. An Egyptian official told the paper that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears favoring war to continue and that Egypt working with Gaza factions to on unified Palestinian leadership for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank

7 View gallery Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ( Photo: GPO )

The IDF said on Sunday that it attacked terrorists firing at troops and hurling explosives, during a raid in the West Bank city of Tulkarm. The forces arrested dozens of terror suspects and confiscated weapons, the military said.

The U.S. Navy said it shot down two missiles headed toward a container ship in the southern Red Sea, launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen late on Saturday. A Singapore-flagged, Denmark-owned/operated container ship reported that it was struck by a missile and the USS Gravely and USS Laboon responded to the ship, CENTCOM said in a post on X.

7 View gallery A person rides a motorcycle with a Palestinian flag waving through a square in Sana’a, Yemen ( Photo: Yahya Arhab / EPA )

Israeli Defense Forces struck three ports in Yemen overnight Monday local time, alleging that the ports are used by the Houthi forces to “transfer weapons from the Iranian regime,” according to a statement from the IDF.

In the IDF strikes on Yemen, Israeli forces also claim they struck the Galaxy Leader, a ship that was taken over by Houthi forces in November 2023, shortly after the war between Israel and Hamas started following the events of Oct. 7, when Hamas led a terrorist attack on Israel that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 taken hostage.

The crew of the Galaxy Leader was held hostage from November 2023 until January 2025, when they were finally released as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas earlier this year.

AP – PHOTO: This photo released by the Houthi Media Center shows Houthi escort the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023.

MORE: Hamas says it ‘responded positively’ to temporary ceasefire deal proposal with Israel

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“Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,” the IDF said in the statement.

Following the strikes, Houthi forces said they “effectively repelled” the Israeli attacks, according to a post from a Houthi spokesperson on X.

Israel’s strikes on Yemen come amid a fragile ceasefire deal between Iran and Israel following the 12-day war between the two countries. Israel and Hamas are currently negotiating a new ceasefire deal that would pause Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of some of the remaining 20 living hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza.

MORE: Israel reports 3 Houthi missiles fired in 24 hours amid plans to expand Gaza offensive

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Negotiators for both Israel and Hamas arrived in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend to continue negotiations after Hamas responded positively to the U.S.-brokered Israeli-backed proposal submitted to them last week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Iran’s intelligence chief has been killed in an Israeli strike on Tehran on Sunday.

Mohammed Kazemi, the head of intelligence for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed alongside Hassan Mohaqiq, his deputy, and Mohsen Bagheri, a third intelligence officer, during an attack on the capital.

Benjamin Netanyahu announced the deaths in an interview with Fox News, saying: “Moments ago, I can tell you, we got their chief intelligence officer and his deputy in Tehran.” His claims were confirmed by Iranian state media a short while later.

This latest attack on the top brass of the Iranian military comes just days after Israel wiped out four other high-ranking military officials and several nuclear scientists.

Mr Netanyahu has maintained that Israel’s offensive against Iran is a “pre-emptive strike”, intended to dismantle a covert programme dedicated to building a nuclear bomb.

He also claimed in the Fox News interview that Israel had destroyed Iran’s primary Natanz nuclear enrichment site.

The nuclear facility in Natanz was capable of enriching uranium in centrifuges up to 60 per cent, just under the purity required to build a nuclear weapon.

The Huthis initially said they launched 18 missiles and a drone at the “aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships” in the Red Sea, before hours later claiming to have fired a second round.

Sanaa: Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed on Monday to have twice attacked an American aircraft carrier group within 24 hours, calling it retaliation for deadly US strikes.

The Huthis initially said they launched 18 missiles and a drone at the “aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships” in the Red Sea, before hours later claiming to have fired a second round.

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There was no immediate comment from the United States about the Huthis’ claimed attacks.

In a statement posted to Telegram on Monday, a Huthi spokesperson said the attacks on the carrier group were “in retaliation to the continued American aggression against our country”.

Washington has vowed to keep striking Yemen until the rebels stop attacking Red Sea shipping, with President Donald Trump warning he will use “overwhelming lethal force”.

The Huthi health ministry said women and children were among the 53 people killed and 98 wounded in US strikes on Saturday.

Huthi media reported more explosions on Sunday night, accusing the Americans of targeting a cotton ginning factory in the western region of Hodeida as well as the Galaxy Leader, an Israeli ship captured more than a year ago.

Huthi leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi called on Yemenis to march on Monday in defiance.

In response to the latest escalation along the maritime trade route, the United Nations has urged both sides to “cease all military activity”.

The Iran-backed Huthis, who control much of the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, have attacked Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, claiming to be acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

Before this weekend’s targeting of the US carrier group, the Huthis had not claimed attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since January 19, when a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip.

The group said it relaunched its attacks over Israel’s halting of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and would “move to additional escalatory options” if “the American aggression against our country continues”.

Washington’s weekend strikes against the Huthis were the first since Trump’s return to the White House in January.

US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told ABC News that Saturday’s strikes “targeted multiple Huthi leaders and took them out”.

Trump meanwhile warned the Huthis that “hell will rain down upon you”.

In a social media post addressed to Iran, the US president demanded the Islamic Republic stop supporting “Huthi terrorists”.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed a “large scale operation” against the Huthis, which it said on Sunday night was continuing.

Witnesses in Sanaa described experiencing a “horrific explosion” that shook houses and shattered windows.

Footage on Huthi media showed children, including a dazed girl with blackened legs wrapped in bandages, and a woman being treated in hospital.

The Huthis have sealed off areas around the blast sites, however, making it impossible to gauge the true scale of the destruction.

One father of two, who gave his name as Ahmed, told AFP: “I’ve been living in Sanaa for 10 years, hearing shelling throughout the war. By God, I’ve never experienced anything like this before”.

“My family and I were terrified,” he added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the deadly US strikes and said Washington had “no authority” to dictate Tehran’s foreign policy.

The Huthis’ political bureau said its “forces are fully prepared to confront escalation with escalation”.

A database set up by ACLED, a non-profit monitor, shows 136 Huthi attacks against warships and commercial vessels, as well as Israeli and other targets since October 19, 2023.

While the Red Sea trade route normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic, Huthi attacks have forced many companies into costly detours around southern Africa.

The Palestinian group Hamas, which has praised Huthi support, branded the US strikes “a stark violation of international law and an assault on the country’s sovereignty and stability”.

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, said: “Iran will not wage war, but if anyone threatens, it will give appropriate, decisive and conclusive responses.”

The United States had already launched several rounds of strikes on Huthi targets.

Israel has also struck Yemen, most recently in December, after Huthi missile fire towards Israeli territory.

Fighting in Yemen’s own war has largely been on hold since a 2022 ceasefire, but the promised peace process has stalled in the face of the Huthi attacks on shipping.

The war killed hundreds of thousands either directly or indirectly through causes such as disease, plunging Yemen into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. (AFP)