Israeli Strike on Yemeni Port Will Harm Civilians, Not Houthis, Experts Say

The Israeli bombing of a vital Yemeni port controlled by the Houthi militia is not expected to deter the group from further attacks but is likely to deepen human suffering in Yemen, regional experts said.

Israeli officials said the barrage of airstrikes that hit the Red Sea port city of Hudaydah on Saturday was a counterattack after the Houthis launched a drone that struck Tel Aviv on Friday, killing one Israeli and wounding several others.

The Israeli strikes in Hudaydah killed three people and injured 87, many of whom suffered severe burns, according to a statement from the health ministry in the capital, Sana, which the Houthis control. Photos and videos from Hudaydah showed an enormous fire at the city’s port that sent black smoke billowing into the sky. The port is the main conduit by which food imports, fuel and aid enter the impoverished northern Yemen.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Israel’s military spokesman, said that Israel carried out the bombardment “in order to stop the Houthi’s terror attacks” and that it had hit “dual-use” targets including energy infrastructure.

Yemeni scholars and former American officials who study the country were nearly uniform in their assessments that the Israeli strikes would do little harm to the Houthis. Instead, they said, the attack is likely to exacerbate suffering in Yemen, which is already experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises after a decade of war. The bombs hit a port that more than 20 million Yemenis depend on.

“The target of the strike does more to hurt the average Yemeni than the Houthis’ ability to launch attacks on the Red Sea or Israel,” said Adam Clements, a retired U.S. Army attaché for Yemen. “Hitting a radar site, a known launch site or another military target could disrupt Houthi capabilities for a few days more than the port.”