Israeli Defense Forces struck three ports in Yemen overnight Monday local time, alleging that the ports are used by the Houthi forces to “transfer weapons from the Iranian regime,” according to a statement from the IDF.
In the IDF strikes on Yemen, Israeli forces also claim they struck the Galaxy Leader, a ship that was taken over by Houthi forces in November 2023, shortly after the war between Israel and Hamas started following the events of Oct. 7, when Hamas led a terrorist attack on Israel that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 taken hostage.
The crew of the Galaxy Leader was held hostage from November 2023 until January 2025, when they were finally released as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas earlier this year.
“Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,” the IDF said in the statement.
Following the strikes, Houthi forces said they “effectively repelled” the Israeli attacks, according to a post from a Houthi spokesperson on X.
Israel’s strikes on Yemen come amid a fragile ceasefire deal between Iran and Israel following the 12-day war between the two countries. Israel and Hamas are currently negotiating a new ceasefire deal that would pause Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of some of the remaining 20 living hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Negotiators for both Israel and Hamas arrived in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend to continue negotiations after Hamas responded positively to the U.S.-brokered Israeli-backed proposal submitted to them last week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.