Israel dramatically escalated its defense operations on Sunday, opening what could be a third front in its ongoing war against Iran’s terror proxies.

Huge explosions rocked the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, with social media posts showing major blasts and extensive damage. According to the IDF, targets included power plants and a seaport used to import oil, which were being used by the Houthis to transfer Iranian weapons and military supplies to the region.Air raid sirens sounded across central Israel on Saturday afternoon, including in Tel Aviv, and large explosions were heard after a missile was fired from Yemen and intercepted, the Israeli military said.

Israel’s massive attack represents a significant expansion of its military operations, which until now have primarily focused on Hamas in Gaza and exchanges with Hezbollah along the Lebanon border. It comes after Houthi terrorists launched three ballistic missiles earlier this month at southern and central Israel, with at least two penetrating IDF air defenses. While this marks Israel’s most significant strike on Yemen to date, it’s not the first, having attacked the Houthis’ base of operations in late July after the terror group fired a suicide drone at Tel Aviv.

Having seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014, the Houthis have been harassing shipping lanes in the Red Sea since October 7, effectively closing the Suez Canal in what they claim is retaliation for Israel’s “genocidal war” in Gaza. In response, the United States and Britain have been conducting an ongoing air campaign against Houthi naval targets since January.

In the meantime, Israeli officials are reportedly preparing a “limited” ground incursion into southern Lebanon involving special forces troops, with signs of troops gathering on the Israeli side of the border suggesting the operation may be imminent.”

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