Yemen port damage estimated at $20 mn after Israel strike: official

An Israeli strike on Yemen's rebel-held Hodeidah port has caused at least $20 million in damage, adding to losses due to the destruction of fuel storage facilities, a port official has said.

The 20 July attack on Hodeidah, the main harbour under the control of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, destroyed most of the port's oil storage capacity and triggered a massive inferno that burned for days.

Nine people were killed in the strike, according to the rebels, the first attack ever claimed by Israel on Yemen which came a day after a deadly Houthi attack on Israel.

Speaking to AFP on Sunday from the harbour after operations resumed last week, port official Nasr al-Nusairi relayed the results of a preliminary damage assessment, saying two cranes were destroyed, a small vessel was burnt and a number of buildings were torched.

"There is also damage to the docks," said Nusairi, the vice president of the Yemen Red Sea Ports Corporation which runs the Hodeidah harbour.

Nusairi estimated the cost of port damage to "exceed $20 million", noting, however, that the sum does not factor in losses incurred by the destruction of fuel storage facilities which "is the responsibility of the oil ministry".

The port damage caused a temporary interruption of activities but operations resumed quickly, Nusairi said.

The first two container ships docked in Hodeidah three days after the Israeli raid, according to Houthi officials.

The port appeared to be operational on Sunday, with container ships anchored on its docks and workers unloading containers using cranes, according to an AFP photographer who toured the area.

The Houthis have launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November, in a campaign they say is to signal their solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.