Houthi attack on gas station in Yemen kills one, injures 14

Aden, July 3 (IANS) At least one person was killed and 14 others injured when Houthi militants targeted a gas station with drones in Yemen's southwestern province of Taiz on Thursday, a government official said.

The attack occurred at dawn when Houthi militants bombed fuel tanks at the Qadasi gas station located northeast of Taiz city, the local official said on condition of anonymity.

He added that the powerful explosion killed one civilian and wounded more than 14 others, with some in critical condition. All injured persons were transported to a nearby public hospital for treatment.

Following the attack, the source noted that ferocious clashes erupted between Yemeni government forces and Houthi militias on the eastern front near the site of the explosion.

The Ministry of Defence of Yemen's government confirmed the incident on its official website, stating that the Houthis used drones to bomb the fuel tanks at the gas station. The explosion caused the complete destruction of the gas station and set fire to several nearby residential houses.

Civil defence teams have successfully extinguished the fire and provided assistance to the wounded, according to the ministry's statement.

The Houthi group has not issued any statement regarding the attack.

Yemen has been embroiled in a devastating civil war since late 2014, with the Houthis fighting against the internationally recognised Yemeni government, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Yemeni government has accused the Houthi group of repeatedly launching drone and missile attacks on several areas under its control. The attacks have resulted in civilian casualties and caused material damage.

Earlier on Tuesday, Yemen's Houthi group claimed responsibility for launching a ballistic missile targeting Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel.

In a televised statement broadcast by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, the group's military spokesperson, Yahya Sarea, said they had "carried out a special military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv using a hypersonic ballistic missile of the Palestine-2 type."

According to Sarea, the missile strike "successfully achieved its goal" by forcing "millions of settlers into shelters and disrupting airport operations."

Sarea also claimed that a wave of one-way unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks targeted what he described as "three sensitive sites" in Eilat, Tel Aviv, and Ashkelon.

The Houthi spokesperson reiterated the group's position that it would continue military operations "in support of the Palestinian people" until Israel halts its military actions in Gaza.

--IANS

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