Yemen's Houthis pledge 'huge' response to Israel strike as Gaza violence spreads

HODEIDA, Yemen — Yemen's Houthi rebels promised a "huge" retaliation against Israel on Sunday following a deadly strike on the port of Hodeida, as violence sparked by the Gaza war gripped the region.

Israel bombed the Palestinian territory, Lebanon and Yemen in quick succession this week in response to attacks from Iran-backed militant groups.

Despite Washington asserting that a deal to end more than nine months of devastating war between Israel and Hamas was near the "goal line", the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen as it pressed on with its offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Dozens have been killed since Saturday across Gaza, the civil defence agency said, including in strikes on homes in the central Nuseirat and Bureij areas and displaced people near southern Khan Yunis.

Residents said a major operation was underway in the Saudi district west of Rafah in the south, reporting heavy artillery and clashes.

The deadly strikes in Gaza came hours after Hizbollah and its ally Hamas said they fired at Israeli positions from south Lebanon, while Yemen’s Houthi rebels vowed to respond to Israeli warplanes hitting a key port.

On Sunday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the rebel’s “response to the Israeli aggression against our country is inevitably coming and will be huge”.

The fire left raging by the strikes on rebel-held Hodeida Port “is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Saturday.

The Houthis control swathes of Yemen, including much of its Red Sea coast, while the internationally recognised government has withdrawn to Aden on the south coast.

Detailing the first strikes claimed by Israel in Yemen, Gallant warned of further operations if the Houthis “dare to attack us” after a rebel drone strike killed one in Tel Aviv on Friday.

In Hodeida, three people were killed and 87 wounded, health officials said in a statement carried by Houthi media.

Firefighters struggled to contain the massive blaze caused by the strike on Hodeida, with a port employee saying fuel storage tanks and a power plant were still on fire on Sunday.