Israel attacks Yemen’s Hodeidah after evacuation warnings, Houthis say

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(Reuters) -Israel attacked Hodeidah in Yemen after the Israeli army said it had warned residents of three ports under Houthi control to evacuate, the Houthi interior ministry said on Sunday.

The strikes came shortly after Israel warned residents of Ras Isa, Hodeidah and Salif to leave, saying the ports were being used by the Iranian-backed Houthis.

But the head of the Houthi-run state news agency Saba, Nasruddin Amer, denied any Israeli attacks on Yemeni ports.

There was no immediate comment on the attack from Israel.

The strikes came a few days after a missile launched towards Israel by the Houthis was intercepted.

It also came ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week.

Trump, who started an intensified military campaign against Houthi strongholds in Yemen on March 15, agreed to an Oman-mediated ceasefire deal with the group, which said the accord did not include Israel.

The Houthis have been launching missiles and drones at Israel, as well as attacking vessels in global shipping lanes, in a campaign that they say is aimed at showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Trump on Tuesday also said that the Houthis had agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.

Israel has carried out numerous retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

((Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Enas Alashray; Editing by Giles Elgood))