Saudi Arabia denies involvement in the Israeli attack on Hodeidah
The Saudi Ministry of Defense announced in a statement that it did not participate in the Israeli aggression targeting Yemen.
Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia did not participate in the Israeli raids targeting the Yemeni city of Hodeidah on Saturday.
He emphasized that Saudi airspace would remain secure and unbreached.
In a statement released on the ministry’s official X platform account, al-Maliki clarified that the Kingdom was not involved in targeting Hodeidah and reiterated that “it will not allow any party to violate its airspace.”
المتحدث باسم #وزارة_الدفاع العميد تركي المالكي :المملكة ليس لها أي علاقة أو مشاركة باستهداف الحديدة، والمملكة لن تسمح باختراق أجواءها من أي جهة كانت. pic.twitter.com/jfg2Bpb1qg
— وزارة الدفاع (@modgovksa) July 20, 2024
The statements from the Saudi Ministry of Defense come in response to the recent Israeli aggression carried out by fighter jets on Saturday. The Israeli airstrikes targeted fuel depots in the port city of Hodeidah and struck fuel tanks at the "Ras Katheeb" power plant, situated on Yemen's Red Sea coast. Yemeni field sources reported this information to Al Mayadeen.
In the latest toll announced by the Yemeni Ministry of Health, the Israeli aggression resulted in the deaths of three individuals and left 87 injured. These injuries were caused by the hostile Israeli raids on oil storage facilities.
It is noteworthy that the spokesperson for the Israeli occupation forces confirmed the "attacking of targets in Yemen," stating that the Israeli raids were "a response to hundreds of Yemeni attacks against Israel over the past months."
For his part, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, emphasized that the armed forces "will not hesitate" to strike vital Israeli targets in the Israeli entity and that operations in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza will not stop regardless of the consequences.
The Yemeni people "are preparing for a long war with this enemy ["Israel"] until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted and the crimes committed by the Israeli enemy against the Palestinian people in Gaza are over."
Immediately following the Israeli aggression, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, affirmed that “this Israeli crime will not deter us from continuing to support Gaza. Instead, there will be operations here that will disrupt the sleep of the temporary entity.”
Similarly, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the political bureau of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, warned the Israeli occupation that it "will pay the price for targeting a civilian facility," adding, "We will respond to escalation with escalation."