Israel carried out air strikes on Houthi-held targets in Yemen on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, hitting locations in the capital Sanaa and the northern province of al-Jawf.
The Israeli military said the air force struck Houthi headquarters, military camps, a military public relations facility and a fuel-storage site. Residents in Sanaa said one of the strikes hit a hideout between two mountains that they identified as a command-and-control headquarters. The extent of damage and any casualties was not immediately clear.
The strikes came a day after Israeli jets carried out an unprecedented long-range attack on a residential building in Doha, Qatar, that Israeli officials said housed members of Hamas involved in negotiations. Several blasts were reported in Doha on Tuesday evening, and smoke was seen rising over the Qatari capital. Hamas said five of its members, including the son of senior leader Khalil al-Hayya, were killed and that a member of Qatari security services also died. Hamas said Israel had failed to eliminate its leadership and accused the United States of bearing joint responsibility for the attack.
Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the United States warned Doha about the Israeli strike 10 minutes after it began and said Qatar "reserves the right" to respond to what he called a "blatant attack." The raid drew sharp international criticism, and several world leaders and officials warned of heightened regional tensions.
The Israeli military described Wednesday's operations in Yemen as part of an ongoing campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which has for more than a year launched attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and fired missiles toward Israel in apparent solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Most of the ballistic projectiles aimed at Israel have been intercepted, the Israeli military says.
The strikes against Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen represent the latest escalation in a series of cross-border exchanges that have included Israeli strikes on Hodeidah port and other facilities in Houthi territory. Israel said the targeted fuel-storage site had been used by the Houthi "terrorist regime," language officials have used in public statements to describe the movement.
In response to the Qatar attack, Houthi forces fired a ballistic missile toward Israel on Tuesday evening, and Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said its defence systems were operating to intercept the strike. The IDF did not immediately report the outcome of the intercept after the missile launch.
Israel's president told the Mail that the Doha strike targeted Khalil al-Hayya because, he said, the senior Hamas figure had been obstructing negotiations to end the Gaza war and was "number one in Hamas" with responsibility for "the blood of thousands of Israelis," remarks that were published ahead of a London summit.
The rapid sequence of strikes — from Doha to Yemen — highlights the widening geographic scope of military action linked to the Gaza war and the risk of further regional spillover. Governments in the region and diplomats in Washington and European capitals have expressed deep concern about the potential for broader escalation as air operations continue across multiple countries.