SANAA(National times)- Israeli air strikes on Huthi-held Yemen killed nine people and wounded more than 100 on Wednesday, the Iran-backed rebels said, days after their prime minister and half the cabinet died in a major attack. The Huthi armed forces’ media operation in Sanaa, the rebel-held capital, was hit in the attacks, along with a Huthi complex in Jawf province, the group said. Israel has launched repeated attacks on Huthi targets during the Gaza war, as the Iran-backed rebels fire missiles and drones at Israel and Red Sea shipping, claiming solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Nine people died and 118 were wounded, Huthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi posted on X. “Civil defence, ambulances and rescue teams are still searching for the missing,” he added. The toll included seven dead and 100 wounded at the media building in Sanaa, and two dead and 20 wounded in Jawf, which borders Saudi Arabia, Alasbahi said. A large plume of grey smoke billowed above Sanaa as the strikes echoed across the city, which has been controlled by the Huthis for more than a decade.

HIGH-PROFILE ASSASSINATIONS

The Huthis’ prime minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, nine ministers and two cabinet officials were killed as they attended a government meeting in the Sanaa area last month. The killings were the most high-profile assassinations of Huthi officials during nearly two years of hostilities with Israel over the Gaza war.m The latest air strikes come after a drone launched from Yemen struck Ramon airport in southern Israel on Sunday, wounding one person. Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said journalists working for the September 26 and al-Yaman newspapers were among those killed at the “Moral Guidance Headquarters” in Sanaa. The Israeli military also said it struck the armed forces’ media operations, among other facilities. The targets included “military camps in which operatives of the terrorist regime were identified, the Huthis’ military public relations headquarters and a fuel storage facility that was used by the terrorist regime”, an Israeli military statement said. The Huthis’ Al-Masirah television said the strikes in Jawf hit a Central Bank branch building in the city of Al-Hazm, wounding employees. The Huthis said they fought back with air defences, without giving details. Since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, the Huthis have launched repeated drone and missile attacks against Israel.