Iran-Backed Houthi Claims It Attacked Military Ships At Haifa Port, Israeli Says 'No News Of Strike'

According to witnesses from companies operating in Haifa, the port operated normally.

Yemen's Houthi group said that they had carried out joint aerial attacks with an Iraqi group. Image used for representational purposes only. ( Image Source :PTI )

Yemen's Houthi group said on Thursday that they had carried out joint aerial attacks with an Iraqi group. The Iranian-backed group targeted ships in Israel's port of Haifa.

In a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said that "the precise operations" were carried out with drones in retaliation for the "massacres committed by the Israeli enemy in the (Palestinian) area of Rafah" in Gaza, news agency IANS reported. The Israeli military, however, denied the claim.

Meanwhile, Israeli military sources told Xinhua news agency that they were "unfamiliar with such an incident." According to witnesses from companies operating in Haifa, the port operated normally.

According to Houthi group spokesman Sarea, one operation targeted two ships carrying military equipment, and another targeted a ship that "violated the Houthi's entry ban on the port of Haifa in occupied Palestine (Israel)," as reported by IANS. The spokesman further stated that the Israeli enemy should expect more operations.

The Houthi group controls several cities in northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. The Iran-backed group began last November to launch anti-ship ballistic missiles and drones targeting what they stated were Israeli-linked ships transiting the Red Sea to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Houthi militants have been launching drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea and surrounding areas since November, leading to concerns about the impact on shipping routes and the potential for destabilization in the Middle East.