At least three people were killed and 87 others were injured following an Israeli attack in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni port of Hodeida, reports said on Sunday.
Israel attacked the Iran-backed rebels—Houthi’s territory after the group's deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv.
The strikes on the vital port, which triggered a raging fire and plumes of black smoke, are the first claimed by Israel in the Arabian peninsula's poorest country, about 2,000 kilometres (1,300 miles) away, AFP reported.
"The blood of Israeli citizens has a price," the above report quoting Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said.
Gallant as per the report also said more operations against the Houthis would follow "if they dare to attack us".
Gallant said the Hodeida strikes were also a warning to other Iran-backed armed groups around the Middle East that have claimed attacks on Israel during the Gaza war, it mentioned.
"The fire that is currently burning in Hodeida, is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear," he was quoting as saying.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted by the report also said, "Anyone who harms us will pay a very heavy price for their aggression.”
Earlier, following Friday's strike in Tel Aviv, Gallant had vowed Israel would retaliate against the Houthis, who control swathes of Yemen, including much of its Red Sea coast.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said F-15 jets carried out the strike and all returned safely to base, the report mentioned.
Rear Admiral Hagari accused the Houthis of using Hodeida "as a main supply route for the transfer of Iranian weapons... like the (drone) that was used in the attack on Friday", it added.
In a statement on social media, top Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam reported a "brutal Israel aggression against Yemen".
The attack targeted "fuel storage facilities and a power plant" in Hodeida "to pressure Yemen to stop supporting" Palestinians in the Gaza war, he said.
