Reacting to the Israeli attacks on Hodeidah, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has called on “all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to distance the region and its people from the dangers of war.”
The ministry said in a statement that it is following developments “with great concern.”
Its statement also called on the “international community and influential parties to fulfill their responsibilities to end conflicts in the region”.
The Israeli military conducted strikes against Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. The attack was a retaliation for Friday’s Houthi air attack on Tel Aviv.
It is the first known direct attack by Israel against the Houthis since the start of the war on Gaza and comes amid growing fears of escalating violence across the Middle East.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said that the port struck by fighter jets was used as an entry point for the Houthis to receive Iranian weapons.
Netanyahu added that the strike, some 1,800 km (1,120 miles) from Israel’s borders, was a reminder to enemies that there is no place that Israel could not reach.
Hours after Israel bombed Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz stated that his apparatus “is engaging with countries and organizations worldwide to emphasize the importance and necessity of Israel’s action against the Houthis in Yemen.”
He also said in a post on X that Israel was trying “to highlight Iran’s direct responsibility for the Houthi terror group’s aggression against Israel and international shipping routes.”
“Iran endangers global peace and must be stopped now before it is too late,” Katz claimed.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant lauded the attack as a warning to Israel’s adversaries.
“The fire that is currently burning in Hodeidah is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear. The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required.”
Yoav Gallant
However, Hamas was quick to condemn the Israeli assault.
“The occupation state will undoubtedly be burned by the fire ignited in Hodeidah today, and the mounting Zionist crimes will change the entire equation,” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Palestinian group’s political bureau, said in a statement.
Hezbollah also voiced support for the Houthis and the Yemeni people after the attack.
“We think that this stupid step by the Zionist enemy is a sign of a new, dangerous phase in the confrontation at the level of the entire region,” the Lebanese group said in a statement.
The Houthi Supreme Political Council promised to respond to Israel’s attack.
“This aggression will not pass without an effective response against the enemy,” it said in a statement.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam said that the “brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen” aims to “pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza, which is a dream that will not come true.”
Attack on Yemen To Escalate Into Regional Conflict
The Israeli Institute for National Security Research of Tel Aviv University noted that the attack on Yemen’s Houthi-controlled areas will lead to the armed group’s violent reaction, leading to “an almost certain escalation” in the region.
It contradicted the military claim that the attack on Hodeidah aimed to cut off the arms smuggling route from Iran to the Houthis.
“Smuggling will continue and even increase. The attack will not deter or stop Houthi attacks, but could actually increase them,” it said.
The institute added that Israel was sending a message to moderate Arab countries and the West, especially the US, that the policy of containment had failed and “the Houthis must be targeted stronger.”
“Israel will find it difficult to mobilize countries in the region to stand out against the Houthis, although some, especially Egypt, have been affected by their attacks on the Red Sea international trade route more than Israel,” it said.
“Arab countries fear the reaction of Iran or their proxies and want to stay out of the line of fire and hedge risks,” it stressed.
READ ALSO: Stanbic Bank and Georgetown University Forge Partnership to Advance Digital Innovation
