JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says dozens of warplanes have struck Houthi targets in Yemen in retaliation for the latest attack on Israel.
The military said it targeted power plants and sea port facilities in the city of Hodeidah.
On Saturday, the Houthis launched a ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion Airport, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting.
This is a breaking news update. AP’s previous story is below.
The Israeli military said on Sunday it had killed another top Hezbollah official in an airstrike, as the Lebanese militant group reeled from a series of devastating attacks and the killing of its overall leader. Hasan Nasrallah.
Nabil Ghouk, deputy chairman of Hezbollah’s Central Council, was killed on Saturday, the military said. Hezbollah confirmed his death and made him Seventh senior Hezbollah leader killed In a week of Israeli attacks. Among them are members of the establishment who have escaped death or detention for decades.
The Israeli military said it carried out another targeted attack in Beirut late Sunday, with details to follow.
Hezbollah earlier confirmed that another senior commander, Ali al-Karaki, had died in Friday’s strike that killed Nasrallah. The Israeli military earlier said Karaqi was killed in an air strike targeting an underground compound in Beirut where Nasrallah and other senior Hezbollah figures were meeting.
Israel says at least 20 Hezbollah fighters were killed in the attack, including two close associates of Nasrallah, one of whom was in charge of his security detail.
The wreckage of the strike was still smoldering more than two days later. Sunday, Associated Press journalists Smoke billowed over the ruins as people flocked to the site, some to check what was left of their homes, others to pay their respects, pray or witness the destruction.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Sunday that Israel’s airstrikes had “destroyed” Hezbollah’s command structure, but he warned that the group would work quickly to rebuild it.
“I think people are safer without him walking around,” Kirby said of Nasrallah. “But they will try to recover. We’ll see what they try to do to fill this leadership void. It’s going to be difficult. … Much of their command structure is now destroyed.”
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Kirby sidestepped questions about whether the Biden administration agreed with how the Israelis were targeting Hezbollah leaders. As world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly, the White House continues to call on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a 21-day temporary ceasefire brokered by the US, France and others last week.
Earlier this month, Hezbollah was also the target of a sophisticated attack on it Pagers and walkie-talkies Israel was widely blamed for that. A wave of Israeli airstrikes in large parts of Lebanon killed at least 1,030 people – including 156 women and 87 children – in less than two weeks, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
The recent strikes have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in Lebanon. The government estimates about 250,000 people are in shelters, with three to four times as many staying with friends or relatives or camping on the streets, Environment Minister Nasser Yassin told the AP.
Hezbollah continues to fire rockets and missiles into northern Israel, but most are intercepted or land in open areas. No Israelis have been killed since the latest wave of attacks targeting top Hezbollah leaders began on September 20.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group and political party backed by Iran, Israel’s main regional rival, rose to regional prominence after fighting a devastating month-long war with Israel in 2006 that ended in a draw.
Kaouk was a senior member of Hezbollah in the 1980s and served as Hezbollah’s military commander in southern Lebanon during the 2006 war with Israel. He frequently appeared in local media, where he commented on political and security developments, and he delivered eulogies at funerals of veterans. The US announced sanctions against him in 2020.
Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel after an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas from Gaza sparked the war there. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies that see themselves as part of an Iran-backed “resistance axis” against Israel.
Israel has responded with waves of airstrikes, and the conflict has steadily escalated to the brink of an all-out war, raising fears of a regional conflagration.
Israel says it is committed to returning some 60,000 civilians to communities in the north that were evacuated nearly a year ago. Despite months of backdoor talks between Israel and Hamas, led by the US, Qatar and Egypt, Hezbollah has said it will only end its rocket fire if a cease-fire takes place in Gaza.
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Sehayeb reported from Beirut. Aamir Madani contributed from Washington.
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