WhatsappAfter a few days of Houthi ballistic missiles being fired at Israel, the IAF finally retaliated with strikes in Houthi controlled Yemen, specifically the capital of Sanaa.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said the following after the strike:
“Air Force planes have now attacked terrorist targets of the Houthi terrorist organization at the airport in Sana’a and destroyed the last remaining plane used by the Houthis as part of Operation ‘Golden Jewel’. This is a clear message and a direct continuation of the policy we have established: whoever fires at the State of Israel will pay heavy prices.”
He continued: “The ports in Yemen will continue to be severely damaged, and the airport in Sana’a will be destroyed again and again, as will other strategic infrastructure in the region used by the Houthi terrorist organization and its supporters. The Houthi terrorist organization will be under naval and air siege – as we have pledged and warned. Anyone who harms us will be harmed sevenfold.”
The IDF spokesman added this: “A short while ago, the IDF struck at the main airport in Sana’a and aircraft belonging to the Houthi terrorist organization. The aircraft struck were used by the Houthi terrorist organization for the transfer of terrorists who advanced terrorist attacks against the state of Israel.”
“Similarly to the Hudaydah and Salif Ports that were struck last week, the main airport of Sana’a is continuously operated by the Houthi regime and is used by them for terror purposes. This is another example of the brutal use of civilian infrastructure by the Houthi terrorist organization. The IDF is determined to continue to operate against anyone who poses a threat to Israeli civilians wherever necessary.”
According to open source intelligence the plan e that was hit, was a Yemenia Airways empty passenger plane. While the plane appears to have been civilian, it was anything but. Normally docked in Jordan, it is used as ferry for war material and moving operatives for training in missile production and weapons development. Israel tracked the plane and when it was docked in Sanaa, the IAF struck - possibly finishing off the last Iran to Houthi smuggling route.
The strategy Israel is employing against the Houthis is clear. Without being located next to Yemen, the IDF is focused on starving out the Iranian backed proxy by cutting off all connection to weapons smuggling between the Houthis and Iran. The first targets were the ports of Hudaydah and Salif along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and then the airport and aircrafts in Sanaa.
The IAF has already destroyed a series of cement factories and other infrastructure that was designed to double as ballistic missile development nodes. Without all of this, the Houthis will dry up their supplies of ballistic missile and drones, that is as long as Israel ensures no new smuggling routes open.
Israel is learning that it must treat the Houthis as it did Hezbollah. In both cases, Iran used overland routes and the civilian airport in each country to transfer war material. Without Syria to aid them and Beirut International Airport closed off to Iranian arms, Hezbollah has weakened inside Lebanon. Israel is attempting to do the same in Yemen. If it is successful, the Houthis power will begin to fade allowing Saudi Arabia to restart the war it suspended - this time finishing off the radical Shiite group once and for all.
