Netanyahu vows retaliation as Houthis threaten aerial blockade on Israeli airports amid ongoing Gaza conflict
📍May 6, 2025 | A massive fireball and rising plumes of smoke marked the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on Yemen’s strategic Hodeidah port on Monday, in retaliation for a missile fired by Houthi rebels that struck near Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv on Sunday.
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The strike marks a significant escalation in the regional fallout from the Israel-Gaza conflict, drawing in Iran-backed Houthi forces more directly into hostilities with Israel.
❗️ MOMENT Netanyahu’s warplanes bomb Yemen https://t.co/lRayeCTZZs pic.twitter.com/1Es0Jx9v24
— RT (@RT_com) May 5, 2025
❗️ Frightening footage shows MASSIVE scale of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen
— RT (@RT_com) May 5, 2025
Apocalyptic fires rage
Smoke clouds tower into the sky https://t.co/ekjP7RuRXH pic.twitter.com/ce9MCPN6Yl
🔴 Key Developments:
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a strong response after the Houthis fired a missile from Yemen that evaded Israel’s missile defenses and exploded near its main airport — the first successful strike of its kind since March.
- Visuals from Hodeidah showed a massive explosion and thick smoke engulfing the port area — a crucial lifeline for Yemen’s humanitarian and commercial imports.
- The Houthis claimed responsibility, calling it part of their ongoing campaign in “solidarity with the Palestinian people”. The rebel group has targeted both Israeli territory and shipping lanes in the Red Sea in recent months.
- In a Sunday night statement, Houthi leaders announced a “comprehensive aerial blockade” on Israel and vowed to continue targeting airports, with Ben Gurion Airport named the primary target.
- The Houthi Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center claimed it had alerted international aviation authorities, including the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), urging airlines to suspend flights to Israel.
- The email reportedly stated:
“We call upon all international airlines to take this announcement into serious consideration… and to cancel all their flights to the airports of the criminal Israeli enemy, in order to safeguard the safety of their aircraft and passengers.”
⚠️ Regional Escalation
The strike is part of an alarming pattern of proxy warfare and expanding conflict zones tied to Israel’s Gaza operations. Iran-aligned groups including the Houthis, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and militias in Iraq have stepped up hostile actions across the Middle East in recent weeks.
🏷️ Tags:
Israel Yemen conflict, Hodeidah airstrike, Houthi missile Tel Aviv, Gaza war escalation, Netanyahu Houthi response, Red Sea security, Ben Gurion Airport missile, Middle East crisis