From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Some 200 Israeli intel personnel said to have taken part in preparations for last week’s strike on Houthi leadership
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleStav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel
The IDF’s precision airstrike on senior Houthi officials in Sanaa, Yemen, last week followed weeks of intelligence gathering and operational preparation, Kan public broadcaster reports.
According to Israeli security sources cited by Kan, the operation targeted a secretive security meeting involving top Houthi government and military leaders, identified by the Intelligence Directorate’s Research Division.
Kan reports that around 200 intelligence personnel — including members of units 8200, 9900, and 504 — gathered in a classified bunker in central Israel to collect detailed intelligence on the Iran-backed terror group. Representatives from the US Central Command were also reportedly involved.
Ahead of the strike, Israeli intelligence determined the exact timing and location of the meeting. Several potential sites were considered, and once a villa in a residential neighborhood of Sanaa was confirmed, plans were quickly approved by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and cleared at the political level, the report says.
According to Kan, the presence of senior Israeli military and political officials overseeing the operation ensured that it complied with international law.
The strike was reportedly carried out using Israeli Air Force fighter jets. Current estimates place more than 20 senior Houthi officials inside the targeted villa, alongside aides, drivers, and security personnel.
Israeli authorities note that the Houthis deliberately held the meeting in a residential villa rather than an official government building, suggesting an attempt to conceal their movements.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, who has remained in hiding for years, was not among the senior officials killed. In a televised speech on the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV on Sunday following Israel’s attack, he vowed to continue “targeting Israel with missiles and drones” and to escalate these attacks, asserting that recent Israeli strikes on rebel-held areas of Yemen would not weaken the group or discourage its fighters.
Kan reports that al-Houthi remains a key IDF target for elimination due to his symbolic and operational significance, and that further operations are planned to deter ongoing missile and drone attacks from Yemen toward Israel.
The Times of Israel Community.