Defense Minister Israel Katz, center, visiting an IDF air defense operations center on December 24, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/ Defense Ministry)
THE TIMES OF ISRAEL | Published December 25, 2024
Israel will begin targeting leaders of Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday, 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. It was the fourth drone or missile attack within a week from Yemen.
“Just as we took care of (Yayha) Sinwar in Gaza, (Ismail) Haniyeh in Tehran and (Hassan) Nasrallah in Beirut, we will deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sana’a or anywhere in Yemen,” Katz said, referring to the leaders of terror group Hamas and Hezbollah killed by Israel.
“We will act both against their infrastructure and against them to remove the threat,” he added while visiting an Arrow air defense system battery used to shoot down the Houthi missile overnight.
He also leveled a threat at the Houthis’ Iranian backers, vowing that “whoever sponsors the Houthi terror in Hodeida or Sana’a will pay the full price” naming a major port and the Yemen capital, respectively, both Houthis-controlled locations that Israel has bombed in retaliation for missile attacks.
Katz also received 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.
Katz’s warning came the day after he threatened to “decapitate” the Houthi leadership in remarks that also confirmed Israel’s hand in killing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier this year.
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SOURCE: www.timesofisrael.com
RELATED: Israel vows to eliminate Houthi leadership after spate of missile attacks: ‘Remove the threat’
THE NEW YORK POST | Published December 25, 2024
Israel has vowed to begin targeting leaders of the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen — a major escalation after the terror group claimed responsibility for a spate of missile and drone attacks.
“Just as we took care of [Yayha] Sinwar in Gaza, [Ismail] Haniyeh in Tehran and [Hassan] Nasrallah in Beirut, we will deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sana’a or anywhere in Yemen,” Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz said Tuesday, according to the Times of Israel.
The warring words came as Houthi rebels fired another ballistic missile at the Jewish state early Tuesday morning, triggering sirens across the center of the country.
The Israel Defense Forces said it managed to intercept the missile using its long-range Arrow air defense system before it entered Israeli airspace, the Times of Israel reported.
Nobody was injured in the attacks, but one person was seriously hurt in the rush to seek shelter and a brief panic was sown across the city.
On Friday, however, 16 were injured after a Houthi missile exploded on a Tel Aviv playground.
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SOURCE: www.nypost.com
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