A photo released by the Houthi-affiliated branch of the Yemeni news agency SABA on May 6, 2025, shows a plane on fire at Sanaa International Airport (Credit: AFP HO / SABA)
The international airport in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, has suspended all flights until further notice due to the ''significant damage'' caused by Israeli strikes from the previous day, its director stated on Wednesday.
''Following the Zionist [ Israeli] aggression against Sanaa International Airport, which caused significant damage, it was decided to suspend all flights to and from the airport until further notice,'' said the airport's general director, Khaled el-Shaief.
In response to a Houthi missile strike on Israel's main international airport on Sunday, Israel carried out strikes against Sanaa airport, power plants in the region, and a cement factory in Amrane [north-west Yemen], killing three, reported the rebel channel Al-Massirah.
''Three of the seven planes belonging to the national company Yemenia were destroyed at Sanaa airport, and the international airport was completely destroyed,'' an airport official said. Since 2022, only the Yemeni national airline Yemenia has maintained a limited commercial link from Sanaa airport, with Amman as the main destination. The airport also hosts humanitarian flights operated by the U.N.
Supported by Iran, Israel's sworn adversary, the Houthis have been at war with Yemen's government since 2014 and control a large part of the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country located more than 1,800 kilometers from Israel.
On Monday, Israel said it had targeted Houthi infrastructures in western Yemen for the fifth time since July 2024, ''in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel.''
Ceasefire
The U.S. and the Houthis have reached a cease-fire agreement, the Omani mediator said Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced the cessation of U.S. strikes against these insurgents. The Houthis' political leader, Mahdi al-Mashat, did not comment on Trump's announcement but promised a ''thundering'' response against Israel, in a statement.
In a statement on the rebels' television, Al-Massirah, Houthi spokesperson Mohammad Abdelsalam said: ''We continue to assess the U.S. position so that it does not limit itself to mere statements. If the American enemy resumes its attacks, we will resume our strikes.'' ''The true guarantees of the agreement are the dark experience the United States has had in Yemen,'' he added.
Earlier, Omani Foreign Minister, Badr al-Boussaidi, asserted that ''following discussions and contacts carried out by the Sultanate of Oman with the U.S. and the concerned authorities in Sanaa, efforts resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two parties.''
''In the future, neither party will target the other, including American ships, in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait,'' off the coast of Yemen. The ceasefire will ''ensure freedom of navigation and the flow of international maritime trade.''
In solidarity with the Palestinians, the Houthis have claimed dozens of missile and drone attacks against Israel since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. They have also attacked ships they believe are linked to Israel off the coast of Yemen, on a crucial maritime route for global trade. In retaliation, the U.S, under the Biden administration, launched raids against rebel positions in Yemen starting in January 2024. These strikes intensified from March 15, under the Trump administration.
''The Houthis have announced that they no longer want to fight. They simply do not want to fight anymore. And we are going to honor that. We will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated,'' Trump stated. ''They say they will no longer blow up ships, and that was our goal,'' Trump added, promising a ''very, very big announcement'' before his trip to the Middle East next week, without specifying its nature.
'Directly Responsible'
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Iran of being ''directly responsible'' for the Houthi attacks against Israel and warned they would face ''all the consequences.''
While almost all Houthi missiles have been intercepted by Israeli air defenses for more than a year, for the first time, a missile directly hit within the perimeter of Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday.
The Yemeni rebels claimed ''a hypersonic ballistic missile shot at Ben-Gurion,'' which caused a brief disruption of air traffic and a temporary suspension of international flights.
Iran denied helping the Houthis in the attack, and its diplomat in chief, Abbas Araghchi, accused Israel of trying to drag the U.S. into a ''disaster'' in the Middle East.