Israeli airstrikes have hit Yemen’s capital, just days after the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fired what the Israeli military described as the first cluster bomb launched by the rebels since 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking from the Air Force command centre in Tel Aviv, vowed to intensify operations against the Iran-backed Houthis, who have been launching missiles and drones toward Israel and attacking ships in the Red Sea for nearly two years.

Houthi rebels fired cluster missiles toward Israel days before. They say they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war.