Israel-Houthi tensions seen as alarming

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged for "utmost restraint" between Israel and Yemen, following heavy Israeli airstrikes overnight on Thursday, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country was only getting started in its strikes against Yemen's Houthi forces.

Israeli bombings have killed at least three people, injured dozens, and struck critical civilian infrastructure, including Sanaa International Airport and ports, according to the UN's official website.

Houthi forces claimed attacks against Israel on Friday hours after the Israeli airstrikes in Sanaa, with a missile fired at Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv and drones launched at the city as well as a ship in the Arabian Sea.

Israeli "aggression will only increase the determination and resolve of the great Yemeni people to continue supporting the Palestinian people", a Houthi statement on Friday said.

The Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, have ramped up attacks against Israel and Israeli-linked shipping since November 2023, framing their actions as solidarity with Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The Israeli attack on Thursday came as a high-level UN delegation, led by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was about to take off at the airport, following discussions on Yemen's humanitarian crisis and the release of detained UN personnel.

Ghebreyesus said "one of our plane's crew members was injured" by the attack.

The injured man worked for the UN Humanitarian Air Service, a WHO spokesperson said.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it knew at the time that the WHO chief was there.

Guterres on Thursday denounced the escalation in hostilities between Yemen's Houthi militia and Israel, terming strikes on the Sanaa airport "especially alarming".

Gokhan Batu, an analyst on Israel studies at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Turkiye, told China Daily that Israel relies on deterrence by inflicting heavy damage on civilian and military infrastructure, exemplified by strikes on Sanaa airport, power plants and key ports.

In an interview with the right-wing Channel 14 network, Netanyahu said that his country was only getting started in its strikes against the Houthis in Yemen and that they would not allow the Yemen-based group to attack Israel any other day, vowing to "strike them to the bitter end until they learn".

Flashpoint site

The escalation in Yemen comes at a critical time with an Israeli far-right minister visiting a flashpoint holy site, sparking criticism among the Arab states.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, is administered by the Jerusalem Awqaf Department, an Islamic religious trust affiliated with Jordan. Jews revere the site as the Temple Mount.

Under the status quo, non-Muslims are permitted to visit the hilltop compound but not allowed to pray there. The sacred site has long been a flashpoint for deadly violence between Jews and Muslims.

Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, secretary-general of the Arab League, strongly condemned on Thursday Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's storming of East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as "a blatant provocation".

"The incursion is a blatant provocation aimed at inflaming emotions and escalating the situation," Aboul-Gheit was quoted in a statement by the pan-Arab, Cairo-based organization as saying.

Jordan's Foreign Ministry also condemned the provocative entry of Israel's security minister into the mosque compound. Sufian Qudah, spokesman for Jordan's Foreign Ministry, stressed Jordan's unequivocal rejection and condemnation of the Israeli minister's actions.

Batu told China Daily that Ben-Gvir's move violates the site's longstanding status quo, reflecting his reliance on provocative actions as a populist tool.

It risks creating a negative atmosphere for ongoing indirect hostage negotiations between Hamas and Israeli representatives in Doha, Batu added.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at mikegu@chinadailyhk.com.