Indicating stepped-up campaign against Houthis, Netanyahu says Yemeni rebels ‘threaten world order’

Indicating the start of a stepped-up campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that “just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran’s evil axis, so we will act against the Houthis.”

In a video statement released after the meeting of his security cabinet in Safed, Netanyahu stresses that Israel is not alone in operating against the Houthis: “The US, and also other countries, like us, see the Houthis as a threat not only to world shipping — but also to world order.”

He also tells Israelis to continue following instructions from the IDF’s Home Front Command, after a ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed group impacted a playground in south Tel Aviv early yesterday morning. Several people were wounded and extensive damage was caused by the strike.

A short while later, the IDF carried out intense airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, though the operation had been in planning for weeks, and jets were already in the air when the missile was launched.

Later on Saturday, the US also said it struck targets in Yemen’s rebel-held capital of Sanaa.

In his video statement, Netanyahu promises that even though the operation against the Houthis may take time, the results will be the same as Israel’s campaigns against other Iranian proxies in the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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.