Israeli forces unleashed a series of strikes on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and the western city of Hodeidah on Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more, the Iran-backed Houthis said in a statement where it vowed to retaliate.

Israel has banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network and accused six of its Gaza reporters of being militants. The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its war coverage, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations.

As Israel and Yemen-based Houthis have exchanged fire five times in the past two weeks, it increasingly appears that Yemen is the next battlefield in West Asia after Gaza Strip and Lebanon where an Ir