After Sanaa airport strikes, Houthis claim they’ll start targeting Israeli civilian aircraft

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels plan on escalating their actions against Israel by targeting planes belonging to El Al and other Israeli carriers, sources from the Yemeni rebel group tell Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper.

The threat comes after Israeli fighter jets bombed the Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport earlier this week, following weeks of near-daily ballistic missile attacks on Israel.

The targeted plane was said by Defense Minister Israel Katz to be the last remaining plane operated by the Houthis, after six other aircraft were destroyed by an earlier Israeli strike.

The Houthis have since claimed that the targeted aircraft was being used to carry out medical evacuations to Jordan.

In retaliation for the strike, Houthi sources tell Al-Akhbar that “the upcoming operations will differ in quantity and substance from the previous operations” against Israel, and will see the rebel group “add the civilian aircraft belonging to the Israeli entity to the list of targets.”

It is not clear if the Iran-backed group has the necessary weapons to make good on its threat.

Earlier this month, however, a spokesperson for the group claimed to Newsweek that it had obtained “new weapons” capable of enforcing an “aerial blockade” on Israel.

Many foreign airlines suspended their Israel routes earlier this month after a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis struck inside the grounds of Ben Gurion International Airport, leaving most Israelis dependent on flag carrier El Al, as well as smaller carriers Arkia and Israir.