Report: Mossad chief believes Israel should target Iran to get at Houthis; PM disagrees
At Hanukkah candle-lighting, Netanyahu vows rebel group will suffer same fate as other enemies in region; officials said doubtful Israel can stop Houthis without help of US
Mossad chief David Barnea has been pushing Israel’s leadership to concentrate on attacking Iran as a way to stem attacks from the Houthi rebels, according to reports Wednesday, as senior officials hinted that strikes against the Iran-backed Yemeni group were set to escalate in the near future.
The stance reportedly adopted by Barnea stands in contrast to the opinion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, who prefer to keep carrying out strikes against the Houthis themselves rather than against Iran.
According to the Haaretz newspaper, Barnea raised the option during a series of discussions on the lack of results from three earlier rounds of strikes in Yemen. The report stated that the Mossad chief believes it would be more effective to go after Iran, which funds and arms the Shiite rebel group.
“We need to go head-on against Iran,” he told security officials, according to Channel 13. “If we only attack the Houthis, it’s not certain that we’ll be able to stop them.”
There was no immediate confirmation or response to the reports, which cited unnamed sources with knowledge of the discussions.
Netanyahu, according to Channel 13, disagreed with Barnea’s assessment, and instead determined that Iran was “a different issue, which will be dealt with at the appropriate time.”
Netanyahu’s estimation was shared by senior members of the security establishment, Channel 13 reported, without providing further details.
Over the past 10 days, the Houthis have launched five ballistic missiles and at least five drones at Israel, in what the terror group says is a campaign in support of Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing war there against the Hamas terror group.
On Wednesday evening, at a Hanukkah candle-lighting for Prime Minister’s Office employees in Jerusalem, Netanyahu vowed that the Houthis would suffer the same fate as Israel’s other enemies in the region.
“Today we are lighting the first candle of Hanukkah to commemorate the victory of the Maccabees of that time and the victory of the Maccabees of today,” he said. “Like we did then, we land blows at the oppressors and those who thought they would cut the thread of our life here, and this will apply to everyone.”
“The Houthis will also learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and the Assad regime and others learned, and even if it takes time, this lesson will be learned throughout the Middle East,” he promised.
Netanyahu was joined for the ceremony by Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of slain Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra.
Also hinting at increased action against the Houthis in the near future was Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, who said Wednesday that the Air Force will “act forcefully wherever we are required.”
“We have struck the Houthis in Yemen three times. We will continue and increase the pace and intensity of the attacks as much as necessary,” he said during a graduation ceremony for pilots.
While an increasing number of officials appear to be gearing up to deliver a substantive blow to the Iran-backed group, the Ynet news site reported Wednesday that there was little hope in Jerusalem that any such attack would halt the missile and drone strikes aimed at Israel.
Israel has carried out three rounds of strikes against the Houthis and has vowed to continue pounding them, without significant results. Analysts have said Israel’s distance from Yemen poses an operational challenge that could be overcome with support from the US or other Western powers.
Israeli officials have discussed plans to escalate strikes with their US counterparts, whom the report said were on board.
Yet the news site quoted unnamed sources as saying that Israel would be able to intensify its attacks to the level needed to beat back the Houthis only once US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
“The Houthis will pay a heavy price, there will be a ratcheting up of Israeli attacks,” an unnamed source was quoted as saying. “But it’s nothing compared to what will happen once Trump enters office. The Americans are planning to impose an embargo on them and sanctions.”
According to the report, Israel sees the Houthis as a “hard nut to crack.”
Unlike other Iran-backed Shiite groups, which have largely been cowed by Israel’s campaigns against them, the Houthis are high on the hog thanks to their success in imposing themselves as a major player in world affairs, according to an Israeli assessment cited by Ynet.
Former defense minister Yoav Gallant threw his support behind the idea of Israel working with the US against the Houthis, as he estimated that it would pave the way for joint action against Iran — something he predicted would take place soon.
He made the comments while visiting a school in Ramat Gan that was destroyed last week by a Houthi missile.
“We need to do more against the Houthis, their leaders and their missile array,” said Gallant, a Likud MK who has made few public speeches since Israel Katz replaced him as defense minister last month.
According to the former general, joint action between Israel and the US against the Houthis “will have a practical effect within a short time.”
“With the American effort and joint Israeli-US operations against the Houthis we can have an impact on the battlefield — and it will act as preparation for what will be done against Iran,” he said. “It will be preparation for future operations which must be done within a short time frame against Iran.”
A ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis was intercepted by Israeli air defenses early Wednesday morning, marking the second night in a row — and the fourth in less than a week — that the Iran-backed group has fired at Israel’s center in what has recently become a near-nightly occurrence.
Later in the day, a drone launched by the Houthis was said by the IDF to have crashed in an open area near the southern city of Ashkelon.
The Houthis were quick to take responsibility for the attack, and claimed that they had launched two drones, one at a “vital and sensitive target” in the Tel Aviv area, and the other at Ashkelon’s industrial zone.
There were no reports of injuries or major damage in the attack as sirens sounded in Ashkelon and some Gaza border communities. There were no reports of impacts in the Tel Aviv area.
On Saturday, attempted interceptions failed to stop a Houthi missile that struck a park in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, lightly injuring 16 people in surrounding buildings.
The Houthis have vowed to keep attacking Israel until the end of the war in the Gaza Strip that began on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led a devastating attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage to Gaza. Israel is battling to destroy Hamas in Gaza and save the hostages.
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.
Israel has carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets three times in response to the group’s attacks, the latest on Thursday.
The Iran-backed group has also carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on some 100 merchant vessels attempting to traverse the Red Sea, forcing many carriers to avoid the key waterway and hamstringing global shipping. The Houthis initially said they were going to attack Israel-linked ships but few of the vessels targeted had ties to Israel.
