Israel and Houthi air strikes back and forth...Red Sea tensions rise

Israeli forces and Yemeni pro-Iranian rebel Houthis have exchanged intense airstrikes on the 10th local time, raising tensions over the Red Sea.

Israeli forces said they flew F-16I fighter jets to bomb Houthi-controlled military facilities, including the ports of Hodeida and Rasisa on Yemen's west coast and the landlocked Hijaz power plant.

"The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Israel with drones and surface-to-surface missiles, and Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself," the Israeli military said, stressing that the attack was carried out at the level of self-defense.

"The Houthis are at the heart of Iran's terror axis, and attacks on merchant ships and routes in the sea continue to destabilize the world," he said.

Houthi rebels also fired three drones at several targets in the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv, TAS reported, citing Houthi-run Almasira TV.

"The drone successfully hit the target," Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarri said.

Sarri also said, "U.S. military Harry S. in the north of the Red Sea with cruise missiles and drones over the past 48 hours. We attacked Truman aircraft carriers and frigates."