Israel strikes 2 Yemen ports controlled by Houthis hours after attacking Gaza as Donald Trump wraps up middle east tour

Israel on Friday said its military attacked two ports in Yemen that were being controlled by the rebel Houthi militant group.

In a statement on the day, Israel military said that these two ports – Hodeida and Salif – were being used by Houthi militants to transder weapons.

“These ports are used to transfer weapons and are a further example of the Houthi terrorist regime's systematic and cynical exploitation of civilian infrastructure in order to advance terrorist activities,” the military said in the statement.

It added that the strikes were made after the Israeli military sounded several warnings to the population in the area.

“The strikes were conducted after numerous advanced warnings issued by the IDF (military) to the population in the area.”

There were no immediate reports of any casualties, the Associated Press reported.

In the statement, Israel's defence minister vowed to hunt down and kill the group's leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.

The Houthi rebels' Al-Masirah television also reported strikes on the ports of Hodeida and Salif, further north along the Red Sea coast.

The strikes come at a time when US President Donald Trump is wrapping up his visit to the middle east but skipped visiting Israel.

Israel strikes Gaza again

Israel launched dozens of airstrikes across northern and southern Gaza on Friday in an attack that killed at least 93 people and wounded hundreds others.

Israeli officials described the attack as a prelude to a larger military campaign in the territory aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages.

The strikes followed days of similar attacks that killed more than 130 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Amid Donald Trump's visit to the Gulf States, there was widespread hopes that his trip to the region could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal, or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on the final day of his trip, Trump said he was looking to resolve a range of global crises, including Gaza. “We’re looking at Gaza,” he said. “And we’ve got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people are — there’s a lot of bad things going on.”