Israel Launches Drone Attack on Hodeidah Port in Yemen
Israel Defense Forces confirmed a new attack on the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah, two weeks after its previous assault on the port’s facilities. The Israelis said they will continue to target the port, which is being used to offload arms shipments from Iran, in an effort to prevent any rebuilding of the facilities.
The Times of Israel is reporting for the first time that Israel used long-range drones for the assault, which it says is the thirteenth time Israel has attacked Houthi positions. Previous attacks were staged using fighter jets supported by spy planes and refueling air tankers.
According to the IDF statement, the targets of the latest strikes included engineering vehicles, fuel containers, naval vessels, and Iranian smuggled weapons. The Israelis contended that the vessels and other assets had been used to launch attacks against Eilat and other areas of the country.
The Times of Israel reports that since March 2025, the Houthis have launched 62 ballistic missiles and at least 15 drones targeting Israel. Some have fallen short, while Israel reports it has been able to intercept most of the attacks. In the past two weeks, Israel confirmed at least six missile attacks and two drones launched by the Houthis. It was investigating a new intercept on Friday night, which it suspected also came from the Houthis.
Unconfirmed reports in the Israeli media said the government had asked the United States to resume its assaults on Houthi positions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to have told Donald Trump that the Houthis are more than just a problem for Israel, and a broader effort should be launched by the United States and European countries to stop the militants.
Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, issued a statement today saying that the IDF would continue “forcefully enforcing any attempt to restore the previously attacked infrastructure.” He reportedly said the “fate of Yemen will be the same as Tehran,” a reference to Israel’s assault on Iran.
The Houthis did not acknowledge today’s Israeli attacks but issued a statement shortly afterward claiming a fresh assault on Israel. They claimed to have targeted five locations in Israel, including the port of Eilat, Ben Gurion Airport, and military targets near Tel Aviv.
U.S. Treasury Sanctions UAE-Based Fuel Traders Who Supply Houthi Ports
The U.S. Treasury is continuing its crackdown on the petroleum-shipping networks that support Yemen's Houthi rebels. The group has long profited from its oil-marketing agreements with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but it also earns hundreds of millions of dollars a year in taxes on imported gas and diesel. Treasury's latest action aims to cut off that flow of revenue by targeting a business network with links to the Houthis in both Yemen and the UAE.
In a statement, the Treasury said that it has sanctioned Yemeni fuel importer Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, manager of UAE-based Arkan Mars Petroleum Company DMCC and Arkan Mars Petroleum FZE. This corporate group has an arrangement with the Houthis to allow importation of oil and gas into northwestern Yemen - including at least $12 million worth of fuel from Iran, Treasury alleged. The department said that Iranian-linked companies have moved payments between Arkan Mars and the Iranian government, an act prohibited by U.S. sanctions on the Iranian nuclear program.
Arkan Mars and other importers have primarily moved their fuel shipments through the ports of Ras Isa and Hodeidah. Petroleum terminals at both of these ports were badly damaged in U.S. and Israeli attacks earlier this year.
“These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender in a statement. “The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products."
The sanctions announcement is the latest in several days affecting trading houses in the UAE.
On Monday, the government of the UK sanctioned Dubai-based Litasco Middle East DMCC (known as LME Trading DMCC), a company linked to number-two Russian oil exporter Lukoil. Litasco Middle East was by far the biggest buyer of Russian oil priced above the G7 price cap last year, according to investigative reporting outlet The Insider. LME Trading DMCC is listed as an anchor tenant in one of Dubai's most glamorous luxury office tower developments, Uptown Dubai.
According to the Treasury, Arkan Mars is located in another luxury tower just 400 yards away from Uptown Dubai, the Dome Tower in the Jumeirah Lakes development. Both are within a growing free trade zone that is home to 25,000 international companies.
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