IDF issues ‘urgent’ evacuation warning for three Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen
No immediate reports of Israeli strikes; military calls for civilians to stay away from ports ‘until further notice’
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday evening issued an “urgent” evacuation warning to the three Houthi-controlled ports in western Yemen, ahead of potential Israeli strikes.
The warning came after the Houthis fired several ballistic missiles and drones at Israel in recent days, since the Israeli Air Force struck the Houthi-controlled airport in Sanaa and several other facilities last week in response to a Houthi ballistic missile that impacted inside the grounds of Ben Gurion Airport last Sunday.
In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee warned those at the Ras Isa, Hodeidah, and Salif ports on the western coast to evacuate.
“Due to the Houthi terror regime’s use of ports for its terror activities, we urge all those present at these ports to evacuate and stay away from them for your own safety until further notice,” he said.
A report by Reuters, citing the Houthi interior ministry, claimed that Israel targeted Hodeidah port following the warning. Israeli military sources said no strikes had been carried out as of Sunday night. There were no reports in Houthi media of strikes either.
On Friday afternoon, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile that triggered sirens across central Israel. The IDF reported that the missile was successfully intercepted by air defenses.
#عاجل تحذير لكل المتواجدين في الموانئ البحرية التي يسيطر عليها النظام الحوثي الإرهابي
⭕️ميناء رأس عيسى
⭕️ميناء الحديدة
⭕️ميناء الصليف????أمامكم تحذير هام وعاجل????
نظرًا لقيام النظام الحوثي الإرهابي باستخدام الموانئ البحرية لصالح أنشطته الإرهابية نحث جميع المتواجدين في هذه الموانئ… pic.twitter.com/3ySkzXCYRR
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) May 11, 2025
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned then that Israel would respond. “The Houthis continue to launch Iranian missiles at Israel. As we promised, we will respond, strongly in Yemen and anywhere else necessary,” he said in a statement.
The Friday attack came three days after the US announced that it had reached a ceasefire with the Yemeni terror group.
Houthi officials made clear that the deal, in which they agreed to stop targeting US maritime activity in the Red Sea in exchange for an end to weeks of intense US airstrikes, did not include any agreement to stop firing at Israel or ships linked to the Jewish state.
On Wednesday, the IDF said a missile fired by the Houthis crashed outside Israeli territory. Earlier in the day, the IDF said it had downed a drone launched from Yemen.
The attacks came after Israel carried out two days of heavy sorties targeting infrastructure controlled by the Houthis in response to the missile that struck Ben Gurion Airport. Since Ben Gurion was hit, most foreign airlines have suspended flights to Israel.
The fiery reprisals destroyed the international airport in the capital Sanaa, and caused heavy damage to a port in Hodeida and several power stations and a cement factory, officials said.
The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — first began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre.
The Houthis held their fire when a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. By that point, they had fired over 40 ballistic missiles and dozens of attack drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have launched some 29 ballistic missiles and at least 10 drones at Israel.
The sirens warning of missile attacks have sent hundreds of thousands of Israelis rushing to shelters at all hours of the day and night.
The Times of Israel Community.