Houthi Leader ‘Pleased’ with Confrontation with Israel, Vows More Escalation

Houthi Leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi expressed his happiness on Monday at the direct confrontation with Tel Aviv, as the huge fire resulting from the Israeli raids on fuel tanks in the port of Hodeidah lasted for many hours, with the death toll rising to six persons.
The Houthi group claimed responsibility for launching missiles towards Israel on Sunday and attacking a ship in the Red Sea without causing damage.
On Saturday, the Israeli army targeted fuel tanks in the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah and its power station, a day after a drone explosion targeted Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding others.
Israel’s military said it had intercepted a surface-to-surface missile headed for the town of Eilat early on Sunday. Yemen’s Houthi militants later confirmed they had targeted the city with multiple ballistic missiles to avenge Israeli air strikes on the Yemeni port the day before.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Houthis expressed his group’s happiness at the direct confrontation with Israel, the United States and Britain. He vowed to continue the attacks against ships and Israel, and announced that the strike on Tel Aviv on Friday was the beginning of the fifth stage of the escalation.
Al-Houthi also downplayed the magnitude of the Israeli attack on the port of Hodeidah, stressing that his group would continue its operations, and that any other strikes would not have any impact on its military capabilities.
In parallel, an official source in the Yemeni government strongly condemned the Israeli bombing of Hodeidah, calling it “aggression” of Yemeni sovereignty, and “a clear violation of all international laws and norms.”
The source also warned the Iranian regime and Israel against attempts to turn Yemeni lands, through the Houthis, into an arena for their senseless wars.