Houthis praise Hezbollah attacks, renew threat to respond to Hodeida port strike

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels praise attacks by Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Israel and renew threats to launch their own assault in response to Israeli strikes on a port in Yemen.

“We congratulate Hezbollah and its secretary-general on the great and courageous attack carried out by the resistance this morning against the Israeli enemy,” the Houthis say in a statement after Hezbollah’s rocket and drone attack.

The Yemeni rebels say the “strong and effective response… confirms that the resistance is capable, strong and honest in its promise and threats.”

The Houthis pledged to launch their own attacks against Israel in response to July 20 strikes that targeted a rebel-run port in the coastal city of Hodeida.

“We reaffirm once again that the Yemeni response is definitely coming,” the statement says.

The strike on Hodeida came a day after the Houthis launched their first deadly strike on Israel — a drone attack in Tel Aviv that killed an Israeli civilian.

Israel’s response destroyed much of the port’s fuel storage capacity and killed at least nine people, according to the rebels.