DUBAI: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants praised attacks by Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Israel on Sunday and renewed threats to launch their own assault in response to Israeli strikes on a port in Yemen.
“We congratulate Hezbollah and its Secretary-General on the great and courageous attack carried out by the resistance this morning against the Israeli enemy,” the Houthis said in a statement after Hezbollah said it had launched a large-scale attack with rockets and drones.
The Yemeni militantsd said the “strong and effective response ... confirms that the resistance is capable, strong and honest in its promise and threats.”
The Houthis pledged to launch their own attacks against Israel in response to July 20 strikes that targeted a militant-run port in the coastal city of Hodeida.
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“We reaffirm once again that the Yemeni response is definitely coming,” the statement said.
The strike on Hodeida came a day after the Houthis launched their first deadly strike on Israel - a drone attack in Tel Aviv that killed an Israeli civilian.
Israel’s response destroyed much of the port’s fuel storage capacity and killed at least nine people, according to the rebels.
The Houthis are fighting Israel as part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance”, which includes militant groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
Since November, the Yemeni rebels have launched a flurry of missile and drone strikes on Israel-linked shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
They say the campaign that has disrupted maritime traffic in the key global trade route is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in the Gaza Strip.
