Taiz- Instead of waking up to the sounds of the mosque call to prayer, many Yemenis in the capital, Sanaa, and Hodeidah Governorate, west of the country, woke up to the echo of explosions resulting from violent Israeli raids that targeted vital economic sites at dawn on Thursday.
Israeli fighters launched 16 air strikes, including 6 targeting the Haziz and Dhahban power stations in the capital, while 10 other raids targeted vital sites in the Hodeidah Governorate overlooking the Red Sea in the west of the country.
While no casualties were announced as a result of the raids on Sanaa, the Houthi-run Al-Masirah satellite channel reported that the Israeli attacks on Hodeidah “resulted in 9 deaths and 3 wounded in the targeted locations.”
Al-Masirah explained that Israel’s raids in this coastal governorate “targeted the port of Hodeidah, the port of Saleef, and the Ras Issa oil facility.”
On the other hand, the Israeli occupation army announced that 14 of its warplanes attacked 5 targets in Yemen with dozens of bombs.
Significant damage
The Israeli raids led to significant material damage to the Sanaa power stations and the ports of Hodeidah.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said – in a statement on Thursday evening – that he is following “with great concern” the reports received regarding Israeli air strikes on the ports of Hodeidah, Saleef, Ras Issa and the surrounding areas in Hodeidah Governorate, and power stations in Sana’a.
Guterres added, “Initial reports indicate civilian casualties, including 9 dead and 3 wounded, in addition to significant damage to Red Sea ports, which will lead to an immediate and noticeable limitation of the ports’ capabilities.”
In turn, a source working in the port of Hodeidah reported that “the raids of the Israeli aggression led to damage to the cranes for transporting goods in the most important port in Yemen.”
In a brief interview, the same source added – to Al Jazeera Net – preferring not to mention his name, “There is also damage to the infrastructure of the port, which continued to operate despite the damage from the raids.”
As for the Minister of Transport in the Houthi government, Muhammad Qahim, he announced on Thursday evening that “the port of Hodeidah continues to operate normally without stopping, after it was targeted by the Israeli aggression.”
Qahim added in a statement followed by Al Jazeera Net that “attempts to disrupt the ports of Hodeidah and continue targeting them will not succeed in tightening the economic blockade on the Yemeni people.”
The Houthi group stated – in a report followed by Al Jazeera Net – that the Israeli raids “led to the Dhahban electrical station north of Sanaa being taken out of service, the central cooling lines were destroyed, much of its property was damaged, and its facilities were damaged.”
The report, broadcast by the group’s media, added that the raids led to a power outage for more than 30% of Sana’a’s needs, including hospitals, factories, and essential service centers.
Big hits to the economy
The sites targeted by Israeli raids are among the most important economic facilities in Yemen, which makes these strikes have real impacts on the economy of the country that is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
In this context, Dr. Muhammad Qahtan, professor of economics at Taiz University, says that the Israeli strikes targeted vital economic facilities, and caused significant damage to the infrastructure of the national economy, in addition to the reported human damage in terms of deaths and injuries.
He added to Al Jazeera Net that the Israeli raids will have major economic repercussions on Yemen, as they targeted important economic and energy facilities, in addition to causing severe damage to the Yemeni Red Sea ports, which are the country’s main sea ports and are currently used for maritime transport.
He continued, “Given that the Yemeni economy is considered collapsed as a result of the war that has been going on for more than 10 continuous years, there is no doubt that these strikes will have major negative effects on the structure of the economy, and it will be difficult for the country, while it is going through conditions of war and collapse, to rebuild, which will compound the worsening conditions.” Economic and humanitarian conditions experienced by Yemenis, especially residents of areas under the control of the Houthis.
He pointed out that Israel targeted these sites due to their economic and social importance, and because they constitute important tributaries for the Houthis in financial resources, as well as facilitating the smuggling of weapons from the Red Sea ports, and at the same time strengthening their capabilities for the war effort.
The Yemeni academic predicted that these strikes may further deteriorate the humanitarian conditions and raise the level of popular discontent with the Houthis, which will weaken their arguments and the slogans they raise, thus further targeting the infrastructure of the exhausted economy.
Regarding the future of the conflict between the Houthis and Israel and its economic consequences, Qahtan concluded, “If escalation and counter-escalation continue, maritime transport activity through the ports of Hodeidah will decline sharply, which will have bad repercussions on the remaining economic activities and consequently there will be more manifestations of social deterioration.” And the humanitarian.
Collective punishment
This is the third time that Israel has carried out attacks on Yemen, as it previously carried out raids last July and September.
In July, the Houthi group announced that the amount of material damage from the Israeli strikes on the port of Hodeidah amounted to about $20 million, without counting oil losses.
In the context of the new raids, economic expert Abdul Salam Al-Shujaa believes that “Israeli strikes on Yemen’s vital and economic installations have a significant impact on the population in general and not only on the Houthi group, which is tantamount to collective punishment.”
Al-Shujaa added to Al-Jazeera Net that attacking these civilian facilities is considered a war crime, since Israel is punishing a people on charges of fighting a small group.
The Yemeni expert pointed out that the purpose of Israel’s targeting of the ports of Hodeidah and the two power stations in Sana’a is that they represent logistical support that the Houthi group benefits from in the military aspect, and that it punishes the group by depriving it of this support.
It is believed that the Israeli strikes greatly affect the flow of goods through the port of Hodeidah, and thus the people will suffer from a severe shortage of basic and necessary needs, in addition to a high rate of inflation, commodity prices, and a decrease in purchasing power due to the scarcity of goods in the local market.
The economic recession deepens
The Israeli strikes come at a time when the Yemeni economy is suffering from a sharp deterioration as a result of the continuing conflict between the government and the Houthis, and the lack of consensus on a mechanism to resume oil exports that have been halted for two years, according to journalist Raheeb Hayel.
Hayel added to Al Jazeera Net, “These new strikes come at a critical time, as the areas under the control of the Houthis are suffering from a major economic recession, in addition to the continued cessation of payment of salaries to employees in the public sector since 2016, which makes any new attacks on the country deepen the suffering of citizens who… “They bear the greatest cost of any conflict.”
He continued, “These strikes will have a direct impact on the economic situation, as these developments spread fears among merchants and citizens, leading to more suffering.”
He added, “Even if the Houthis reduced the effects of these strikes, the reality indicates that citizens’ livelihoods will be affected by any military escalation in Yemen.”
In turn, journalist and social activist Mukhtar Shaddad told Al Jazeera Net that “the Israeli strikes cause major economic losses to the Yemeni interior, because they targeted vital sites that would affect the infrastructure and vitality on which citizens depend to obtain basic services.”
He added, “These strikes may pose great concerns to citizens in terms of their ability to cover their needs for food supplies and basic services. They may affect the living situation, as 80-90% of citizens depend on providing their fuel and food needs from these areas and sea ports.”
Shaddad pointed out that repeated strikes on these sites may lead to a humanitarian catastrophe, the burden of which will be borne by citizens.
