In a statement on social media, top Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam reported a "brutal Israel aggression against Yemen."

He said the attack targeted "fuel storage facilities and a power plant" in Hodeida "to pressure Yemen to stop supporting" Palestinians in the Gaza war.

The Axios news outlet cited US and Israeli officials as saying that Israel carried out the strikes in retaliation for a Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv.

The Houthi attack on Friday penetrated Israel's vaunted air defences and killed a civilian in a Tel Aviv apartment building, drawing Israeli threats of retaliation.

The Yemeni health ministry said there were deaths and injuries in the Hodeida strikes but it did not give a toll.

In a statement carried by Yemen's Al Masirah television, it said several people suffered "serious burns".

Footage aired by Al Masirah showed a massive blaze on the seafront, with a large plume of black smoke rising into the sky.

An AFP correspondent in Hodeida reported hearing several large explosions and seeing smoke over the port.

Fuel pumps across the city closed following the attack, the correspondent said.

Hodeida has been heavily targeted by strikes from Britain and the United States since January, in response to Houthi rebel attacks on Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea.

The offensive, Houthi rebels say, aims to press Israel to halt its bloodiest-ever war on Gaza nearing its tenth month.

The Houthis have attacked at least 88 commercial vessels since November in support of Palestinians suffering under Israel's Gaza war.