From Houthis vow support for Hezbollah, slam Israel’s ‘pre-planned aggression’ on Lebanon
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
The leader of Yemen’s Houthis says the Iran-backed rebels “will not hesitate to support Lebanon and Hezbollah” as cross-border fire between the Lebanon-based terror group and Israel intensifies.
In a televised address, Abdul Malik al-Huthi condemns Israeli strikes on Lebanon, saying they aim to block Hezbollah, also backed by Iran, from “supporting Gaza and the Palestinian people.”
Since November, the Houthis have targeted Red Sea shipping with drones and missiles, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war which was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 massacre on Israel.
Israel this month said it was shifting its military’s focus from Gaza to Hamas ally Hezbollah, which has fired on Israeli communities and military posts since the Gaza war began.
The Houthi chief describes Israel’s action in Lebanon as “pre-planned aggression” that has been “in place for years” while asserting Hezbollah was “stronger than ever before.”
Drawing on the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, he warns any “ground operation in Lebanon will inflict heavy losses on the enemy and its inevitable result will be a great defeat.”
The Huthi leader added that Hezbollah’s missiles could hit all parts of “occupied Palestine.”
The Houthis are fighting Israel as part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” which includes Hamas, Hezbollah, and several Iraqi Shiite Muslim groups.
The Times of Israel Community.