Violent airstrikes shake Sanaa... Israeli messages transcend the borders of Yemen.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Special

Violent raids shake Sanaa... Israeli messages transcend Yemen's borders Sanaa - Bahr Al Arab Violent explosions shook the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Sunday evening, August 24, 2025, after a series of airstrikes targeted military sites and missile depots belonging to the Houthi group, including areas near the Presidential Complex. International reports confirmed that the Israeli Air Force was behind these strikes, in an unprecedented move that expands the scope of the confrontation to the heart of Yemen. Confused field scene Eyewitnesses in Sanaa spoke of successive explosions that lit up the city's sky, while no accurate count of human or material losses has been announced so far. Local sources indicated that the raids targeted sites of a strategic nature, which suggests that it is an attempt to paralyze the Houthis' missile capabilities that were used to threaten navigation in the Red Sea. The strategic dimension: Multiple messages These strikes cannot be read in isolation from the current regional context. By targeting the Houthi depth, Israel seeks to send direct messages to Iran that its arms are not immune from targeting, even in distant geographies. These raids also carry a clear signal to the Gulf states that the Houthi challenge is no longer a local Yemeni issue, but part of a larger conflict network in which the Red Sea intersects with the Bab al-Mandab Strait and global energy security equations. Potential repercussions 1. On the Houthis: The group is likely to respond with retaliatory operations against navigation or by escalating political rhetoric, trying to appear as a victim in front of regional and international public opinion. 2. On Yemen: The continued transformation of the country into a proxy conflict arena, which exacerbates Sanaa's isolation and doubles the suffering of civilians. 3. On the region: Israel's direct entry into the Yemeni scene opens the door to a complex race between Tehran and Tel Aviv, and may push some Gulf powers to recalculate their security and political considerations. Beyond the strike It is remarkable that the strikes coincided with the increasing talk about international arrangements to reopen safe corridors for commercial navigation in the Red Sea. This means that Sanaa, in one moment, has become not only a battlefield, but a strategic pivot in the game of international and regional influence. Edited by: Political Affairs Unit - Bahr Al Arab Newspaper