Neither Israel nor Houthis show signs of backing down as attacks intensifypublished at 20:42 Greenwich Mean Time 26 December

20:42 GMT 26 December

Shaimaa Khalil
BBC News, reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

These strikes, while concerning because yet again they prove the war in Gaza reverberates throughout the region, are not surprising. Israel has shown it has a clear focus - to go after the Houthis in Yemen.

"I have instructed our forces to destroy the infrastructure of Houthis because anyone who tries to harm us will be struck with full force," PM Benjamin Netanyahu said after the Houthi missile strike in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

"We will continue to crush the forces of evil with strength and ingenuity, even if it takes time," he insisted.

This is the second Israeli air strike on the Houthis in Yemen in less than a week, and it follows a significant rise in the number of Houthi attacks on Israel this month.

Last week alone saw at least five attacks launched towards Israeli territory - some weren’t intercepted.

Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon - both supported by Iran - have suffered devastating losses to their infrastructure and the killing of their leaders.

The Houthis, who are also supported by Iran, have been launching attacks since the beginning of the war in Gaza in support of the Palestinians there. The group seems to have taken the fore, intensifying their attacks and drawing in the wrath of the Israeli military, with Netanyahu saying Israel is "only just starting" it's campaign to destroy them.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have vowed to keep up their attacks until the end of the war in Gaza, promising to meet "escalation with escalation".

But the war in Gaza continues, as does the wider regional conflict that it sparked.

• We're pausing our live coverage for now. You can read the full report on the strikes in Yemen here.

This page was edited by Owen Amos and Tiffany Wertheimer. The writers were Lana Lam and Seher Asaf.

Hamas has condemned Israel's strikes on the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In a statement, the group criticised "aggression carried out by the Zionist enemy against our brothers from Yemen" and accuses Israel of "targeting civilian sites including Sanaa airport and the port of Hodeida".

For context: Hamas is a Palestinian armed group and political movement in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have declared support for Hamas in the war it launched against Israel in October 2023.

Image source, Al-Masirah

A man, who identified himself as Dr Abbas Rajeh to the Al-Masirah TV channel, said the hospital he works in received 10 cases today as a result of the missile attacks, including one person who had already died.

"One patient is in a critical condition, while the other have light injuries or broken bones," he told the Houthi-run station.

Image source, Reuters

The Israeli military and Iran-backed Houthis have exchanged attacks for months with strikes in recent weeks showing a marked escalation.

Here are the key events over the past week:

19 December: Israel attacks Houthi-held targets in the capital Sanaa. Overnight, the Houthis respond with a missile fired towards Israel, activating sirens across central Israel. No injuries reported

21 December: A ballistic missile launched from Yemen lands in a playground in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, with 16 people injured by glass shards. That evening, the US launches strikes on military sites in Sanaa

23 December: Israel intercepts a drone launched from Yemen before it crossed into Israeli territory

24 December: Another projectile launched from Yemen is intercepted by Israel. Sirens sound to warn of falling shrapnel

25 December: The Houthis launch a drone attack on Israel, targeting sites in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, and in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon

26 December: Israel launches air strikes on Yemen, targeting the international airport in Sanaa, an air base, power stations and ports. At least three people are killed and 14 others injured, Houthi-run media says

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Al-Masirah

Several people who were hurt in the missile attack on the airport have described their experience to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV channel.

One man, who has his ear bandaged up, said the runway was struck three times, followed by the airport's control tower. Unable to escape downstairs, he said he got out through a window.

Another man, who said he was there to welcome some passengers, said shrapnel hit his arm when a missile hit.

And a third man questioned why Saana's international airport was targeted at all: "How could they target a civilian facility? People were going about their normal business peacefully. This is not a military airport but they target civilians," he said.

Israel's PM has continued his tough rhetoric, saying his government is only just beginning its campaign against the Houthis in Yemen.

"We are only just starting with them", he told Channel 14 news.

Image source, epa

Israel's foreign minister says his country's strikes on Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen comes after the rebel group's "relentless attacks" on Israel since 7 October.

"We will not tolerate unprovoked aggression from a terrorist army operating 2,000km away," says Gideon Saar in a social media post.

He says the Houthi attacks on international shipping routes "upend global stability" and that Israel will take "all military and diplomatic measures it deems necessary to protect its security".

For context: On 7 October 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, triggering a massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. The Houthis say they support Hamas in its war against Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have raised the alert level of their air defence systems in preparation for possible retaliation from the Houthi rebels, Israeli media reports.

This is not an uncommon move for the IDF - it has raised its alert level several times this year.

We're hearing from some more leaders of the Houthi rebel movement in Yemen now.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of the group's supreme revolutionary committee, has called the strikes "barbaric" and "aggressive".

He also says that "confrontations with American and Israeli arrogance" will continue until the conflict in Gaza stops.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a Houthi political official, echoes that sentiment, adding: "We will meet escalation with escalation".

He also blames the US and UK for helping Israel with the strikes.

Image source, EPA

If you're just joining us, here's a quick recap of what we know so far:

• The Israel military has launched a series of air strikes on Yemen, hitting "military targets" held by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group
• The strikes were launched because the Houthis “repeatedly attacked” us, Israel said
• At least 3 people have been killed and 14 others injured, according to Houthi-run media
• An attack on the international airport in the capital Sanaa killed at least two people. A video from inside the airport shows panicked people running out of the terminal
• The head of the World Health Organization was about to board a flight at the airport when it was hit - he and other UN staff said they are now safe
• Israel also struck two power plants and key ports controlled by the Houthis, which Israel claims were being used to “smuggle Iranian weapons” and to allow Iranian officials to enter the country
• Israel's Prime Minister said it will continue to target the "Iranian axis of evil" in comments shortly after the strikes
• Iran has described thestrikes as a “violation of international peace and security”

Commercial flights are continuing to land at Yemen's international airport in Sanaa, despite reports of damage to the facility from the Israeli air strikes.

We've just received this image of an Airbus A320 Yemenia Airways flight as it heads towards the airport, shortly after the strikes happened.

Image source, EPA

Israeli Air Force (IAF) Commander Maj Gen Tomer Bar says its strikes on Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen show what Israel is "capable of...and much more".

"We have just seen a tangible demonstration of what we are capable of, and we are capable of much more."

As a reminder, Israeli says it hit Houthi targets at the international airport in Sanaa, two power stations and key ports.

At least three people have been killed by the strikes and about 11 injured, according to Yemen's Houthi-run broadcaster Al Masirah.

As we've been reporting, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was at the airport in Sanaa when it was struck by Israel.

Tedros says he was in Yemen to negotiate the release of detained UN staff and assess the humanitarian situation in the country.

In June, the UN confirmed that 13 staff members were detained by the Houthis in Yemen.

The employees were taken in various parts of the country, in what appears to have been a co-ordinated crackdown.

They detentions came as the Houthis faced increasing economic difficulties and air strikes carried out by a US-led coalition.

The Houthis have been targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea, triggering retaliatory air strikes by the US and its allies.

Image source, GPO

Before those comments from the WHO's Dr Tedros, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his first public remarks about the strikes on Yemen.

"We will continue to cut off the terror arm of the Iranian axis of evil until we complete the job," he said, speaking from an air force base.

Defence Minister Israel Katz, who was also there, said: "We will hunt down all the Houthi leaders - no one will be able to evade Israel's long arm."

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam has described today's strikes as "a Zionist crime against all the Yemeni people", AFP reports.

Israel's strikes came after several attacks by the Houthis, including one in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

More lines now from the director-general of the World Health Organization's (WHO) statement.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says his team will need to wait for the "damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave".

"My UN and WHO colleagues and I are safe," he adds.

"Our heartfelt condolences to the families whose loved ones lost their lives in the attack."

Image source, EPA

Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was in Sanaa airport at the time of the attack.

He says: "As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a, about two hours ago, the airport came under aerial bombardment.

"One of our plane’s crew members was injured. At least two people were reported killed at the airport.

"The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged."

The BBC has verified social media footage from Sanaa airport, after the Israeli air strikes.

Yemen's Houthi-run broadcaster Al Masirah is reporting that three people were killed in the strikes, and a further 11 were wounded.

Two of those were reportedly killed at the airport in Sanaa, with the other at the Ras Issa port.

It is unclear whether they were civilians or Houthi rebels.

Iran has described Israel's strikes against Yemen as a "violation" of peace and security.

"These aggressions are a clear violation of international peace and security and an undeniable crime against the heroic and noble people of Yemen, who have not spared any effort to support the oppressed people of Palestine against the occupation and genocide," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, according to AFP.

For context: The Houthis in Yemen are backed by Iran, and Iran has been accused of smuggling weapons to the rebels.