Katz says Houthi heads will roll after latest missile attack

Israel will begin targeting leaders of Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, Defense Minister Israel Katz says, vowing that Israel will not allow missile and drone fire on Israel to continue unchecked.

Firing at Houthi leaders would seem to mark an escalation by Israel, which has so far targeted port infrastructure and military sites in a handful of sorties in response to repeated launches of drones and ballistic missiles from Yemen. A missile fired early Tuesday was shot down, but sirens in the Tel Aviv area caused widespread panic and a rush to shelter left one woman seriously injured.

“Just as we took care of Sinwar in Gaza, Haniyeh in Tehran and Nasrallah in Beirut, we will deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sana’a or anywhere in Yemen,” Katz says, referring to the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah.

“We will act both against their infrastructure and against them to remove the threat,” he adds while visiting an Arrow air defense system battery used to shoot down the Houthi missile overnight.

He also levels a threat at the Houthis’ Iranian backers, vowing that “whoever sponsors the Houthi terror in Hodeida or Sana’a will pay the full price.”

Katz also receives a briefing from Lt. Col. Eyal Frenkel, commander of the 136th Herev Magen Battalion of the IAF’s Air Defense Corps, responsible for intercepting long-range missiles.