Houthi drone crashes in south as terror group said to brace for major Israeli attack

Aircraft falls in open area near Ashkelon; Saudi news site says Houthis moving assets, troops to ‘combat readiness’ as Israeli leaders threaten increased strikes on Yemen

Yemeni rebels demonstrate in the suburbs of the Houthi-controlled capital Sana'a, on December 23, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
Yemeni rebels demonstrate in the suburbs of the Houthi-controlled capital Sana'a, on December 23, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen launched a drone at Israel on Wednesday, which the Israel Defense Forces said crashed in an open area near the southern city of Ashkelon.

The Houthis quickly took responsibility for the attack, claiming to have launched two drones, one at a “vital and sensitive target” in the Tel Aviv area, and the other at Ashkelon’s industrial zone.

There were no reports of injuries or major damage in the attack as sirens sounded in Ashkelon and some Gaza border communities. There were no reports of impacts in the Tel Aviv area.

The attack came as the Houthis reportedly raised their alert level in anticipation of major Israeli retaliatory strikes after Israeli leaders ramped up threats against the terror group amid a week of near-daily ballistic missile and drone launches targeted central Israel.

The London-based, Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported that Houthi leaders have stopped attending regular meetings and are avoiding traditional means of communication out of fear that Israel will strike leadership targets.

According to the report, Houthi officials understand that the intensity of Israeli strikes will increase, and have begun moving assets away from Sana’a and Hodeidah, where Israel has attacked previously.

The Saudi outlet also reported that the precautionary measure have caused a rift within the Iran-backed group’s leadership, with some senior officials feeling like they are out of the loop of decision-making for both internal and external affairs.

The report also said many Houthi officials are in favor of making concessions to “local, regional and international parties to avoid the fate of Hezbollah and the Bashar al-Assad regime.”

Men carry a mock missile during a rally by university students and faculty denouncing strikes on Yemen and in solidarity with Palestinians, in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on December 25, 2024. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

According to the report, these officials fear a major Israeli or international campaign could cripple their military and open the door for an escalation in the decade-long civil war between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government of Yemen.

The Hebrew-language Walla news site reported Wednesday that Houthi fighting units received a notification to raise their alert level to the highest degree in recent days, and have begun moving combat forces to the front lines of confrontation with the Yemeni Armed Forces.

Waiting for Trump to take office

While Israel is mulling carrying out attacks deep inside Yemen and targeting Houthi leaders as it looks to deliver an actual significant blow to the Iran-backed group, the Ynet news site reported Wednesday that there was little hope in Jerusalem that any such attack would halt the missile and drone strikes.

As such, Israeli officials have discussed plans to escalate strikes with their US counterparts, whom the report said were on board.

Yet the news site quoted unnamed sources as saying that Israel would only be able to intensify its attacks to the level needed to beat back the Houthis once US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

“The Houthis will pay a heavy price, there will be a ratcheting up of Israeli attacks,” an unnamed source was quoted as saying. “But it’s nothing compared to what will happen once Trump enters office. The Americans are planning to impose an embargo on them and sanctions.”

According to the report, Israel sees the Houthis as a “hard nut to crack.”

Unlike other Iran-backed Shiite groups, which have largely been cowed by Israel’s campaigns against them, the Houthis are high on the hog thanks to their success in imposing themselves as a major player in world affairs, according to an Israeli assessment cited by Ynet.

In the past 10 days, the Houthis have launched five ballistic missiles and at least five drones at Israel, in what the terror group says is a campaign in support of Gaza amid the ongoing war there against the Hamas terror group.

On Wednesday evening, at a Hanukkah candle lighting for Prime Minister’s Office employees in Jerusalem, Netanyahu vowed that the Houthis would suffer the same fate as Israel’s other enemies in the region.

“Today we are lighting the first candle of Hanukkah to commemorate the victory of the Maccabees of that time and the victory of the Maccabees of today,” he said. “Like we did then, we land blows at the oppressors and those who thought they would cut the thread of our life here, and this will apply to everyone.”

“The Houthis will also learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and the Assad regime and others learned, and even if it takes time, this lesson will be learned throughout the Middle East,” he promised.

Netanyahu was joined for the ceremony by Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of slain Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra.

Also on Wednesday, Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar threatened increased strikes on the Houthis in response to the repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel.

“We act forcefully wherever we are required. We have struck the Houthis in Yemen three times. We will continue and increase the pace and intensity of the attacks as much as necessary,” he said during a graduation ceremony for pilots.

IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar speaks at a pilots graduation ceremony at the Hatzerim Airbase in southern Israel, December 25, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Former defense minister Yoav Gallant, in a visit to the Ramat Gan school destroyed by a Houthi missile last week, urged Israel and the US to work together against the Houthis, saying that it would pave the way for joint action against Iran, which he predicted would take place soon.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, Mossad chief David Barnea would rather an attack against Iran occur sooner rather than later and has been pushing the country’s leaders to pursue this option, as he believes it to be the best way for Israel to counter the escalating Houthi strikes.

There was no immediate confirmation or response to the report, which cited an unnamed source with knowledge of discussions reportedly held to discuss the lack of results from three earlier rounds of strikes in Yemen.

According to Haaretz, while Netanyahu and Katz support continued direct attacks on the Houthis by Israel or its allies, Barnea believes it would be more effective to go after Iran, as it funds the Shiite group, which has long enjoyed Tehran’s support.

On Tuesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to begin targeting Houthi leaders, saying, “Just as we took care of [Yayha] Sinwar in Gaza, [Ismail] Haniyeh in Tehran and [Hassan] Nasrallah in Beirut, we will deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sana’a or anywhere in Yemen,” referring to the leaders of terror group Hamas and Hezbollah killed by Israel.

Katz’s warning came a day after he threatened to “decapitate” the Houthi leadership in remarks that also confirmed Israel’s hand in killing Haniyeh earlier this year.

In response to the Israeli threats, a senior Houthi official warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his Iran-backed group will not back down from confrontation.

“Netanyahu, do you think you will do to us what you did to Hezbollah? Ask the Yemeni Jews who we are,” said Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, former head of the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Council, according to Channel 12 news.

Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Israel would act against the Houthis with the same force it used against Iran’s other “terrorist arms.” The premier vowed that even though the operation against the rebel group may take time, the results will be the same as those seen in Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

Responders at the impact site of a missile from Yemen in Tel Aviv, December 21, 2024 (Israel Police)

A ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis was intercepted by Israeli air defenses early Wednesday morning, marking the second night in a row — and the fourth in less than a week — that the Iran-backed group has fired at Israel’s center in what has recently become a near-nightly occurrence.

On Saturday, attempted interceptions failed to stop a Houthi missile that struck a park in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, lightly injuring 16 people in surrounding buildings.

The Houthis have vowed to keep attacking Israel until the end of the war in the Gaza Strip that began on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led a devastating attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel is battling to destroy Hamas in Gaza and save the hostages.

The Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in the past year. According to the IDF, the vast majority did not reach Israel or were intercepted by the military and Israeli allies in the region.

Israel has carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets three times in response to the group’s attacks, the latest on Thursday.

The Iran-backed group has also carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on some 100 merchant vessels attempting to traverse the Red Sea, forcing many carriers to avoid the key waterway and hamstringing global shipping. The Houthis initially said they were going to attack Israel-linked ships but few of the vessels targeted had ties to Israel.

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