SANA’A, (PIC)
Yemeni authorities reported that Israeli airstrikes on the ports of Hodeidah from July 20 to December 19 caused losses estimated at around $313 million. This statistics were revealed during a press conference held by the Minister of Transport in the Sana’a government, Mohammed Qahim, in the presence of Yemeni leaders and a team from the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) regarding the repercussions of Israeli targeting of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Issa ports.
A statement issued at the press conference indicated that the Red Sea Ports Corporation continues to suffer from the aftermath of previous damage caused by Israeli airstrikes on the three Hodeidah ports. It was noted that the recent Israeli strikes inflicted severe damage on the equipment and infrastructure of the Hodeidah port, affecting cranes, the power station, and tugboats used for assisting ships, with total losses estimated at around $313 million.
The statement emphasized that the destruction of Yemeni ports constitutes a blatant violation of the principles and provisions of international law and the United Nations Charter, including the four Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, which prohibit targeting vital facilities essential for people’s livelihoods, such as ports and economic installations.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced conducting precise airstrikes on a missile storage facility and a command-and-control site operated by the Ansar Allah group in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. CENTCOM reported late Saturday that the strikes aimed to “disrupt and weaken Houthi operations, including attacks on U.S. warships and commercial vessels in the southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden.”
In a statement, it confirmed targeting several drones belonging to the Houthis and a cruise missile aimed at ships over the Red Sea. It added that these strikes and operations involved the U.S. Air Force and Navy, including FA-18 aircraft, without mentioning any British participation.
For its part, the Ansar Allah group announced that the American-British coalition launched an aerial attack on Sana’a on Saturday evening. The Yemeni Al-Masirah TV reported in a brief urgent news item, “An American-British aerial aggression targeted the Attan area in Sana’a.”
This follows two days after Sana’a and sites in Hodeidah province, including the port, were subjected to 16 Israeli airstrikes. Firefighters were attempting to control a fire at the Hodeidah port on Saturday, according to Reuters.
In solidarity with Gaza against the ongoing Israeli genocide in the enclave since October 7, 2023, which has resulted in the martyrdom and injury of nearly 153,000 Palestinians, the Yemeni armed forces, managed by Ansar Allah, began targeting Israeli-linked cargo ships in the Red Sea with missiles and drones since November of the same year.
Since the beginning of this year, Washington and London have launched airstrikes on sites in Yemen, to which the group responded by declaring that all U.S. and British ships are now considered military targets, expanding their attacks to vessels passing through the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean or anywhere their weapons reach.
Moreover, Ansar Allah periodically conducts missile and drone attacks on Israel, some targeting Tel Aviv, and conditions for halting these attacks include ending the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
