Israel’s latest strikes against Iranian-backed militant groups followed several attacks by the Houthis, a Shiite Islamist political and military organization that controls large swaths of Yemen. The Houthis recently vowed to “carry out more military operations against the Israeli enemy.”
The Houthis’ sponsor, Iran, attempts to portray Israel’s retaliatory strikes against the group as a violation of international law. Tehran voiced these accusations two days before launching waves of missiles at Israel on October 1.
“The Zionist regime’s move to attack Yemen and the country’s civilian and service infrastructure is a blatant and repeated violation of the United Nations Charter,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said on September 29.
The Iranian-backed Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, which took part in the attack last October 7 on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, called Israel’s strikes on Yemen a “war crime.”
That is misleading.
Israel’s strikes come in response to the Houthis’ hostile attacks, and there is no evidence that Israel targeted Yemeni civilians.
Contrary to the Iranian claims, it is the Houthis who have repeatedly violated international agreements set to stop violence.
But issues of proportionality regarding Israel's acts of self-defense against the Houthis and other militant forces are subject to debate. Human Rights Watch said the “disproportionate” Israeli attack, and the Houthi attack that precipitated it, may have constituted war crimes.
Following years of civil war in Yemen, the warring parties signed the Hodeidah cease-fire agreement, also known as the Stockholm Agreement, committing “not to bring any military reinforcements to the city, the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Isa, and the governorate,” and “to remove any military manifestations from the city [of Hodeidah]."
The agreement was reached to stem a food insecurity crisis and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid and other goods to Yemen’s ports.
In a systematic violation of that agreement, the Houthis have repeatedly engaged in military activity in Hodeidah governorate and at Hodeidah port — a primary hub for the delivery of humanitarian supplies, fuel and commercial goods.
In July, the Houthis struck an apartment complex in Tel Aviv with what Israel called an Iranian-made drone, killing one person.
Israel responded by striking Hodeidah port. That attack killed 14 people, and damaged a power-generating station, an oil refinery, fuel depots and cranes that Israel said the Houthis were using to unload Iranian weapons.
Israel also said it hit weapon storage facilities in the airstrikes.
Israel contends the Hodeidah port “is a legitimate military target,” arguing it is being “used for terrorist purposes as it receives arms shipments directly from Iran — including the unmanned aerial vehicle fired at Tel Aviv.”
In 2022, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen also said the Houthis were still using the ports of Hodeidah and Salif to carry out military and marine operations, making them legitimate military targets.
International law states that attacks on energy infrastructure must “make an effective contribution to military action.” while their destruction “must offer a definite military advantage.”
In January, the Associated Press documented a Houthi strike on a U.S. cargo ship, reporting “the missile came from near Hodeidah.”
Media have documented numerous other Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the vicinity of Hodeidah this year.
Houthi rebels have been striking and hijacking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea — in violation of international law — to show their solidarity with Hamas and opposition to Israel since November.
A 2023 United Nations report documented a number of Houthi violations of the Stockholm Agreement, including the hijacking and detention of an Emirati-flagged vessel at the port of Hodeidah.
The Houthis have launched over 220 missiles and drones at Israel over the past year.