September 2025 Israeli Attacks in Yemen

The September strikes took place amid continuing Houthi missile and drone launches toward Israel. The Houthis carried out 220 missile and drone attacks on Israel from August 2024 to August 2025.[1] Israel said the September 10 strikes responded to Houthi launches, including a drone that struck Ramon Airport earlier that week; two airport workers were reported lightly injured.[2] The Houthis also claimed a September 9 missile attack using a cluster warhead, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it intercepted.[3]

The immediate precedent to the September 25 operation was a Houthi drone strike on Eilat on September 24. The Times of Israel reported 22 people wounded, including two seriously, while the Jerusalem Post reported 48; the available accounts do not reconcile the difference.[4][5] The late-August Israeli strike that killed the Houthi prime minister and other officials was a separate event, not one of the September attacks. Sources place it on August 28, 2025, and describe it as targeting senior Houthi figures.[6][7]

On September 10, the IDF struck targets in Sana’a and al-Jawf. Israel described them as military camps where operatives gathered to plan attacks, a fuel-storage facility, and the headquarters of the Houthi military information department.[2] The IDF said more than ten fighter jets participated and used over 30 munitions against 15 targets. The mission covered more than 2,350 kilometers—about 1,460 miles—and involved several aerial refuelings.[2]

Israel characterized the September 10 operation as a response to Houthi attacks on Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Ramon Airport attack had not weakened Israel’s resolve to strike, and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would hit threats wherever they arose.[2] Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the strikes hit civilian properties, including newspaper offices. Houthi authorities reported differing casualty figures: one account gave 35 killed and 131 wounded, while another claimed 46 killed and 165 injured.[2][8]

Claims about media workers and damage to civilian sites were also disputed. Houthi-affiliated newspapers said 32 journalists were killed at their Sana’a headquarters, while the Committee to Protect Journalists accused Israel of deliberately targeting 31 journalists working for Houthi-run media.[9][10] At the time of its report, CPJ said it had independently confirmed nine of the 31 as journalists and was continuing its investigation.[10] The IDF described the targeted department as responsible for Houthi military propaganda and psychological operations.[2] Houthi authorities also said the strikes damaged Yemen’s National Museum and other historical sites, while the cited reporting did not establish the condition of the artifacts.[11]

On September 16, Israel struck military infrastructure at the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida. Israel said the port was used to bring in Iranian weapons for attacks on Israel and its allies, and Katz described the operation as part of a continuing naval and aerial blockade of the Houthis. The IDF issued an evacuation warning to people at the port and ships docked there before the strike.[12] Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah reported 12 strikes on three piers, while two port sources cited by Reuters said three docks restored after earlier Israeli attacks were hit.[12][13] A missile launched from Yemen toward Israel was intercepted hours later, with no injuries reported.[14]

On September 25, the Israeli Air Force struck seven targets in Sana’a, described by the IDF as military and security sites. The list included the Houthi General Staff command headquarters, security and intelligence compounds, the military information department, military camps, and weapons-storage facilities.[15] About 20 fighter jets reportedly dropped more than 65 munitions after flying roughly 2,200 kilometers; the IDF said aerial refueling was used.[4][15] The operation was named “Passing Package,” and the strikes began while a recorded speech by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi was airing.[15]

Israel said the September 25 attack responded to repeated Houthi launches, particularly the Eilat drone strike the previous day. Katz said the operation destroyed stores of unmanned aerial vehicles and weapons and claimed that many dozens of Houthi operatives had been killed; a separate Israeli security estimate put the number above 50.[15] Houthi authorities reported casualties, but published totals differed: one account gave eight killed and 142 injured, while another reported 11 killed and 205 wounded.[16][17] After the strikes, the Houthis launched a ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion International Airport; it triggered sirens in central Israel and was intercepted, with no immediate injuries reported.[16]

The September attacks were followed by further Houthi missile launches toward Israel, including the intercepted missile after the September 25 strikes.[16] Houthi accounts and local reporting also described damage to homes and nearby neighborhoods and raised claims that security or intelligence sites may have held political opponents, United Nations personnel, or aid workers in detention. These reports differ from the IDF’s account of the sites as military and security infrastructure; the reporting does not independently establish the allegations.[18]

The material on the strikes presents them as part of an exchange of attacks between Israel and the Houthis, but it does not provide a definitive accounting of damage or casualties. Israeli statements emphasized military targets and the destruction of weapons-related facilities, while Houthi-affiliated sources reported civilian casualties and damage to press and cultural sites.[2][11] A September 14 commentary assessed that strikes on economic facilities alone had not stopped Houthi fire toward Israel, but this was the author’s analysis rather than an independently established outcome.[7]

Accounts differ over dates, target counts, and casualties. The Jewish Virtual Library places an Israeli response on September 9, whereas contemporaneous reports date the Sana’a and al-Jawf strikes to September 10; the sources do not resolve the one-day discrepancy.[19][2] Reports also give different counts for the September 10 targets: the IDF figure reported by Ynet was 15, while the Jerusalem Post relayed a figure of six from Al-Hadath.[2][20]

For September 10, Houthi authorities issued casualty totals of 35 killed and 131 wounded in one account and 46 killed and 165 injured in another.[2][8] For September 25, reports attributed to Houthi authorities gave totals of eight killed and 142 injured or 11 killed and 205 wounded.[16][17] Israeli officials separately claimed that many dozens of Houthi operatives had been killed, while an Israeli security estimate placed the number above 50.[15] Reporting also records competing accounts of whether newspaper offices and journalists were struck and whether the targets were exclusively military or included civilian sites.[2][10] These discrepancies are not reconciled in the available sources, so casualty and damage figures should be read as attributed claims rather than as a single settled count.