A Houthi civilian official says the group will continue to attack Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians, despite escalating Israeli airstrikes in Yemen.

THE Mohammed al-Buhaiti he told the BBC that the Houthis would “escalate their military targeting of Israel” until he stopped what he described as “genocide in Gaza”.

On Thursday, Israeli warplanes struck the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and ports and power plants on the Red Sea coast, killing at least four people. His prime minister Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, warned that its response to more than a year of missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed group “just started.”

Overnight, the Houthis fired another ballistic missile into Israel, which the Israeli military said was intercepted before it reached Israeli territory.

The UN Secretary General stated that “seriously concerned” from intensive escalation. He also characterized the strikes at the airport and ports “particularly worrying” and warned that they pose “serious risks to humanitarian operations” in the war-torn country.

The Houthis, who control northwestern Yemen, began attacking Israel and international shipping shortly after the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023.

Israel has carried out four rounds of airstrikes against the Houthis since July in retaliation for the 400 missiles and drones the Israeli military says have been fired into the country from Yemen, most of which have been shot down.

The US and UK have also carried out airstrikes in Yemen in response to the group’s attacks on dozens of merchant ships in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

THE Mohammed al-Buhaitia member of the Houthi politburo, told the BBC’s Newshour program on Friday that Yemenis “proceed in direct confrontation” with the USA, UK and Israelafter fighting with what he called their “tools” during the Yemen war. He appeared to be referring to the Saudi coalition that intervened to support the Yemeni government when the Houthis seized control of Sanaa in 2015.

“We are committed to continuing our military operation in support of Gaza and will not stop until the crimes of genocide and the siege on Gaza are ended. We will escalate our military targeting of Israel”he said. “Israel has categorically denied that its forces are committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

Buhaiti said the Houthis do not need the support of Iran, which has seen its allies Hamas and Hezbollah destroyed by wars with Israel over the past 14 months.

“We have enough capabilities – militarily, financially, even with popular support – to succeed in this battle, even if we are alone”he insisted. He also said the Houthis expected an escalation from the US after the president-elect took office Donald Trump next month, but warned that it would “boomerang”.

Israel’s prime minister said Thursday night that his country “has attacked targets of the Houthi terrorist organization” as part of what he called “redemptive war”.

“We are determined to cut off this terrorist arm of Iran’s axis of evil. We will persevere until we get the job done”stated Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel’s defense minister Kats warned meanwhile that Israel would “hunt down all Houthi leaders”as he had done with the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah.

His representative UN, Stephanie Tremblay, stated that the Secretary General Antonio Guterres remains “deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation in the region and reiterates its appeal to all parties concerned to cease all military actions and exercise maximum restraint.”

The Israeli military said its airstrikes targeted the “military infrastructure” the Houthis at Sana’a International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power plants, as well as infrastructure at the Red Sea ports of Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Kanatib that were used to smuggle Iranian weapons. The Houthi military spokesman said only civilian facilities were hit and that the strikes resulted in casualties and property damage.

The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported that three people were killed at Sana’a airport and that three others were killed in Hudaydah province.

However, Yemen’s Houthi-controlled government’s deputy transport minister, Yahya al-Shayaniput the death toll at four, during a press conference on Friday. He said Sana’a airport’s control tower, departure hall and navigation equipment were hit and damaged, and accused Israel of violating international law and aviation regulations.
The strikes at the airport came at a time when the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesuswas to board a United Nations Humanitarian Aviation Service (UNHAS) plane. A member of the UN plane’s crew was seriously injured and flown to Jordan on Friday after undergoing surgery at a local hospital, according to Dr. Tedros.

“Deepest gratitude to the UNHAS team for their service and speedy evacuation from Yemen”wrote to X. “Attacks on civilians and humanitarians must stop, everywhere.”

The head of the WHO led a high-level delegation to Yemen to assess the humanitarian situation in a country that has the highest cholera in the world and 80% of the population needs some form of help. He was also asked to try to negotiate the release of 16 UN staff members held by the Houthis.

It is common practice for United Nations share full details of humanitarian flights with all interested parties. However, the Israeli military told The Associated Press that it was not aware that the UN delegation was at the airport. The representative of the WHO Margaret Harris he said his agency was “in touch with all interested parties to ascertain the facts” around the incident.