Sanaa: Yemen's Houthi group said that it launched multiple rocket and drone attacks at three Israeli cities and also conducted a fresh attack against US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea. "In response to the recent massacres against our brothers in Gaza, we carried out a military operation targeting vital targets in the Israeli southern port city of Eilat, using four cruise missiles," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Friday in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

He added that his group also targeted other vital targets in the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Ashkelon and launched the 7th attack against the US aircraft carrier in the northern Red Sea since its arrival, Xinhua news agency reported. "We confirm our readiness for any developments or US-Israeli escalation against our country and that we will continue to monitor the developments of the situation in Gaza and will take appropriate escalation options if the enemy (Israel) breaks the ceasefire agreement or launches any further strikes against the Palestinian people in Gaza," Sarea said. He added that his group would keep supporting Hamas until the "Israeli enemy is expelled from all of Palestine." Following the statement, al-Masirah TV noted that these attacks were carried out earlier today before dawn. At dawn, the Houthi television reported that the US naval forces conducted five airstrikes in the Red Sea, targeting a Houthi military site in the Harf Sufyan district of Amran province, to the north of the Houthi-held capital Sanaa. The US military has not commented on the incidents yet.

The attacks against Israeli cities and the US aircraft carrier came a few hours after the group's leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi said Thursday night that his group "will continue" launching rocket attacks against Israeli cities if the Israeli forces keep striking the Gaza Strip before the implementation of the announced Gaza ceasefire agreement. The long-awaited truce agreement between Hamas and Israel was reached in Doha on Wednesday. 

(IANS)