JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military bombed the airport in Yemen’s rebel-held capital Tuesday, claiming to have disabled the airfield in an attack that left commercial aircraft burning on the tarmac as its fighter jets struck power plants and other targets.

The rare daytime attack on Sanaa, held by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels since 2014, came as part of a second day of Israeli airstrikes in response to a Houthi ballistic missile striking the grounds of Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. The Houthis described the Israeli attacks as killing at least seven people and wounding 74 others over two days.

The Israeli military has bombed the airport in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, claiming to have disabled the airfield in an attack that left commercial aircraft burning on the tarmac as its fighter jets struck power plants and other targets.

The Israeli military’s daytime attack in Sanaa was in response to a Houthi ballistic missile striking the grounds of Ben-Gurion International Airport.

But the future of American attacks on the Houthis, who have pledged to continue to target Israel, was thrown into question after U.S. President Donald Trump said America would stop striking the Houthis. Trump described the rebels as having “capitulated” and agreed to stop targeting shipping in the Red Sea, though the rebels did not specifically acknowledge such a pledge.

“We indirectly informed the Americans that the continued escalation will affect the criminal Trump’s visit to the region, and we have not informed them of anything else,” said Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi’s supreme political council, in a statement carried by the rebel-controlled SABA news agency early Wednesday. Trump is due to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week.

Badr al-Busaidi, the foreign minister of Oman who mediated between the U.S. and the Houthis, also is mediating between America and Iran over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

“Today’s news about the situation in the Red Sea means that diplomatic efforts have lead to the end to the conflict between the US and Ansar Allah in Yemen,” al-Busaidi wrote on the social platform X, using another name for the Houthis. “They will no longer target each other, ensuring freedom of navigation for international commercial shipping in the Red Sea.”

The strikes in Sanaa came shortly after Israel’s military warned on social media that people should leave the area immediately, saying that “failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.” The explosions from the strikes echoed across Sanaa, sending the public fleeing to find cover as thick black smoke rose over the skyline.

The Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel later aired footage from the airport, showing its terminal’s windows blown out, with concrete blocks exposed and a fire burning inside. On its runway, aircraft associated with the state carrier Yemenia burned.

The airline later said three of its planes had been “taken out of service” in the attack, though those abroad in Jordan were untouched. The Israeli strike came after its flight to Amman on Tuesday took off.

Other strikes hit a cement plant and power plants, the Houthis and Israelis both said. On Monday, Israel targeted Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeida, hitting a key port there and another cement factory.

Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said the strike should be seen as a warning to the “head of the Iranian octopus,” which he said bears direct responsibility for attacks by the Houthis against Israel.

The Israeli airstrikes involved some 50 bombs and “dozens” of aircraft, the Israeli military said. It also required mid-air refueling to reach Sanaa, showing their reach also to Iran as Israel has threatened to strike Tehran’s nuclear enrichment sites.

Sunday’s missile attack struck an access road near Israel’s main airport near Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were slightly injured. It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Ben-Gurion airport since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. While most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some missiles and drones have penetrated Israel’s air defenses.

The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians there, while also targeting commercial and naval vessels on the Red Sea. That raised their profile both at home amid Yemen’s decadelong war and abroad as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.

The U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said the latest strikes carried out on Israel and Yemen’s airport marked a “grave escalation in an already fragile and volatile regional context.” He urged the parties to show restraint.

In March, Trump had vowed to use “overwhelming lethal force” after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on ships sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s mounting another blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Trump told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. “will stop the bombings. They have capitulated, but more importantly, we will take their word that they say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.” Trump added, “I think that’s very positive. They were knocking out a lot of ships.”

Data from Lloyd’s List suggests larger shipping firms are slowly beginning to return to the Red Sea, though traffic through the waterway that once saw $1 trillion in goods a year pass through it remains low.

Israel has repeatedly targeted the Houthis. It struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv.

In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people after a missile targeted Ben-Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeida.

Also Tuesday, Israel continued its strikes in Gaza. At least 18 people were killed, including children, when a school sheltering displaced people was hit in Bureij, according to Khalil Al- Dokran, spokesperson for al-Aqsa Hospital, where some of the bodies were taken.

Gambrell contributed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Suspected U.S. airstrikes struck around Yemen’s rebel-held capital overnight into Monday morning, attacks that the Iranian-backed Houthis said killed at least three people.

The full extent of the damage wasn’t immediately clear. The attacks followed a night of airstrikes early Friday that appeared particularly intense compared to other days in the campaign that began March 15.

The strikes around Sanaa, Yemen’s capital held by the Houthis since 2014, and Hajjah governorate also wounded 12 others, the rebels said.

Their Al-Masirah satellite news channel aired footage of broken glass littering homes in Sanaa after the concussive blast of the bombs, but continued not to show the targets of the attacks — suggesting the sites had a military or intelligence function. Strikes there killed one person, the rebels said.

Another strike targeting a pickup truck in Hajjah killed two people and wounded a child, the Houthis said. It marked the first, publicly known time the American strikes targeted a vehicle in this campaign.

An Associated Press review has found the new American operation against the Houthis under President Donald Trump appears more extensive than those under former President Joe Biden, as the U.S. moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in cities.

The new campaign of airstrikes, which the Houthis now say have killed at least 61 people, started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels in the past loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning other vessels could be targeted.

The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none has been hit so far.

The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decade-long stalemated war that has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. The Houthis said 13 civilians were killed.

“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Trump said in a social media post. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”

He also warned Iran to stop supporting the rebel group, promising to hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy. It comes two weeks after the U.S leader sent a letter to Iranian leaders offering a path to restarting bilateral talks between the countries on Iran’s advancing nuclear weapons program. Trump has said he will not allow it to become operational.

The Houthis reported explosions in their territory Saturday evening, in Sanaa and in the northern province of Saada, the rebels’ stronghold on the border with Saudi Arabia. Images online showed plumes of black smoke over the area of the Sanaa airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility.

At least 13 people were killed, said Anees al-Asbahi, spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry. In a statement on social media, he said another nine were wounded.

A U.S. official said this was the beginning of air strikes on Houthi targets that are expected to continue. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, said the airstrikes won’t deter them and they would retaliate against the U.S. “Sanaa will remain Gaza’s shield and support and will not abandon it no matter the challenges,” he added on social media.

Another spokesman, Mohamed Abdulsalam, on X, called Trump’s claims that the Houthis threaten international shipping routes “false and misleading.”

The airstrikes come a few days after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s latest blockade on Gaza. They described the warning as affecting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea.

There have been no Houthi attacks reported since then.

Earlier this month, Israel halted all aid coming into Gaza and warned of “additional consequences” for Hamas if their fragile ceasefire in the war isn’t extended as negotiations continue over starting a second phase.

The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, during their campaign targeting military and civilian ships between the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in late 2023 and January of this year, when this ceasefire in Gaza took effect.

The attacks raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic and other problems at home amid Yemen’s decade-long stalemated war that’s torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.

The Houthi media office said the U.S. strikes hit a residential neighborhood in Sanaa’s northern district of Shouab. Residents said at least four airstrikes rocked the Eastern Geraf neighborhood there, terrifying women and children.

“The explosions were very strong,” said Abdallah al-Alffi. “It was like an earthquake.”

The Eastern Geraf is home to Houthi-held military facilities and a headquarters for the rebels’ political bureau, located in a densely populated area.

The United States, Israel and Britain have previously hit Houthi-held areas in Yemen. Israel’s military declined to comment.

But Saturday’s operation was conducted solely by the U.S., according to a U.S. official. It was the first strike on the Yemen-based Houthis under the second Trump administration.

Such broad-based missile strikes against the Houthis were carried out multiple times by the Biden administration in response to frequent attacks by the Houthis against commercial and military vessels in the region.

The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, which includes the carrier, three Navy destroyers and one cruiser, are in the Red Sea and were part of Saturday’s mission. The USS Georgia cruise missile submarine has also been operating in the region.

Trump announced the strikes as he spent the day at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk,” Trump said.

Baldor reported from Washington and Magdy reported from Cairo. AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller and AP writer Tara Copp contributed from Washington.