The Israel Defense Force (IDF) issued an unusual message on social media Tuesday and urged everyone around Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport to evacuate immediately.

“We call upon you to evacuate the airport area – Sana’a International Airport – immediately and warn everyone in your vicinity of the need to evacuate this area immediately,” IDF Col. Avichay Adraee said in a post translated from Arabic on X, along with a map of an area highlighted in red around the airport. 

“Failure to evacuate and move away from the place exposes you to danger,” he added. 

Smoke rises from an explosion after a projectile hit a group of buildings at an undisclosed location, after President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group’s attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on Mar. 15, 2025. (U.S. Central Command/Handout via REUTERS )

The Houthi’s vowed to hit Israel with “a comprehensive aerial blockade.” 

Following the Houthi strike on Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport, Jerusalem scrambled some 20 jets and on Monday hit the Yemeni port of Al-Hudaydah, which is the second-largest port in Yemen and accounts for 80% of the nation’s food imports. 

Houthi rebel fighters march during a rally of support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and against the U.S. strikes on Yemen outside Sanaa on Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo)

The Houthis accused the U.S. of carrying out joint strikes with Israel on Monday which killed four people and injured 39, according to the Houthi-run health ministry. The U.S. has reportedly denied involvement in the joint strike.

The U.S. has ramped up its aerial and naval strikes against the Houthis, and since Operation Rough Rider commenced in mid-March, some 800 Houthi targets have been hit, according to an April 27 statement by U.S. Central Command.