Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia on Friday condemned the Israeli attack on the headquarters of the Hezbollah militia in a Beirut suburb, saying it “opens the door to an open war.”
“Targeting the southern suburb (of Beirut), which is crowded with civilians, is unprecedented brutality and is neither new nor surprising for the Zionist gang,” the militia’s political bureau said in a statement.
“The serious development in the aggression on Lebanon opens the door to an open and comprehensive war, the result of which will be devastating to the interim entity (Israel),” it added, according to the Houthi-affiliated al-Masirah TV.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari called the strike a targeted attack and said the headquarters was located under a residential building.
Lebanese authorities reported at least six people were killed and 91 injured.
Both the Houthi and Hezbollah militias are part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” which includes proxy groups in Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere.
Since the onset of the Gaza war nearly a year ago, the Houthis have targeted Israel and merchant vessels in the Red Sea, stating these actions are in solidarity with the Palestinian organisation Hamas in Gaza.
The Houthis have carried out various attacks, including drone and missile strikes on Tel Aviv.
In response, Israel, along with the United States and Britain, has targeted locations within Yemen in recent months.
As a result of these militia attacks, the traffic of container ships in the region has plummeted by approximately 90 per cent.
Earlier, the Houthis had claimed two attacks including one by a ballistic missile aimed at Israel in support of their Palestinian and Lebanese allies.
Houthi military spokesman Yehya Saree said the group had targeted a military target in the area of Jaffa with a ballistic missile and a “vital target” in the Ashkelon area with a drone.
“The two operations have successfully achieved their objectives,” he added in a televised statement without giving details.
Saree vowed further attacks by the group in the days ahead until what he called the “Israeli aggression” on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon stops.
Earlier this month, the Houthis claimed they had launched a hypersonic ballistic missile against an Israeli military target in Jaffa.
On Wednesday, warning sirens rang out across Tel Aviv for the first time since May as Israel’s air defence intercepted a missile fired from Lebanon.
It was the first time the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia targeted Tel Aviv, in central Israel, since the war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip began on October 7 last year.
Following a fatal drone attack on Tel Aviv by the Houthis, the Israeli Air Force attacked the port city of Hodeidah in July, leading to a massive fire and six deaths. Houthi leaders subsequently announced a new phase in the fight against Israel.