There was an inevitability about the Israeli strikes and, early on Saturday evening, the military’s fighter jets pounded the Yemeni port city of Hodeida.
Local people reported seeing warplanes streaking across the sky before explosions thundered through the city – it’s reported a number of people were killed.
The IDF had vowed to respond to hundreds of Houthi attacks on Israel and the strikes on the port – which Israel says was a “dual use” civilian and military target – was the retaliation.
But the Houthi attack that provoked the response happened on Friday – in a residential district of Tel Aviv.
A Houthi drone – evading Israel’s sophisticated air defence systems – darted across the Mediterranean Sea, narrowly missing the US embassy, before exploding in the city, killing one person and injuring at least 10 others.
With the loss of Israeli life, a military response was always coming and the attack on Yemen – the first ever by Israel – was also about delivering a message and attempting to restore deterrence.
But it is questionable whether it will work.
Fire blazes into the sky in Hodeidah, Yemen. Pic: AP
Strikes by the UK and the US in the past, in response to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, have failed to break their resolve.
The Houthis are vowing to respond and carry on what they call their campaign of solidarity with the people of Gaza.
This includes direct attacks on the country with missiles and drones and a maritime siege.
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What all this means is that the war is entering dangerous new territory with the possibility of further escalation.
There is a fear that a regional conflict may not be far away.
With the war in Gaza now in its ninth month, Israel is fighting on a number of fronts.
On its northern border, it is locked in a grinding low-level war with the Shia militant group Hezbollah.
The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people from their homes on both sides.
The risk now is one of miscalculation or accident that sets off a devastating chain reaction that sets the Middle East on fire.
