Netanyahu said he gave the order to destroy the infrastructure of the Houthis, who launched missile attacks on Israel last week. Netanyahu also said, “Moderate Arab countries view Israel as a regional power and a potential ally. I intend to seize this opportunity to the fullest. Together with our American friends, I plan to expand the Abraham Accords… and thus change even more dramatically the face of the Middle East.”
After the Houthis in Yemen launched a missile attack on Israel last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament, “I have instructed our Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to destroy the Houthi infrastructure because anyone who tries to harm us will be hit with full force. Even if it takes time, we will continue to crush the forces of evil with strength and skill.”
Netanyahu said Israel had achieved major military successes on many fronts, adding that Israel had strengthened its position as a regional power and planned to expand the Abraham Accords with Israel’s ally the United States. He said the war in Gaza provided opportunities to sign new peace agreements with Arab countries.
“Moderate Arab countries see Israel as a regional power and a potential ally. I intend to fully exploit this opportunity. Together with our American friends, I plan to expand the Abraham Accords and thus change the face of the Middle East even more dramatically,” Netanyahu said, referring to the agreements that normalized ties between Israel and some Arab states during Donald Trump’s first term as US president. Netanyahu also noted that Israel’s economy is strong and that it encourages foreign investors to invest.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, while speaking at an event, openly admitted for the first time that Israel had assassinated Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh and gave the message that a “severe blow” would be dealt to the Houthis. Katz emphasized that Israel had “dealt a heavy blow to the axis of evil and that they will also deal a heavy blow to the last organization standing, the Houthi in Yemen.” Katz also said the following:
“As the Houthi launches missiles at Israel, I want to give them a clear message at the beginning of my speech: We defeated Hamas, we defeated Hezbollah, we blinded Iran’s defense systems, we damaged its production systems. We overthrew the Bashar Assad regime in Syria. Israel says the Houthis will damage its strategic infrastructure and we will behead their leaders, just as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon, we will do the same in Yemen’s Hudaydah and Sanaa.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) released images yesterday of its forces in the Persian Gulf region preparing to attack Yemen. CENTCOM shared on social media, “Sailors on the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) are preparing instructions for attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen.” The post stated that the ship is currently in the Middle East and is in CENTCOM’s area of responsibility.
CENTCOM issued a statement claiming responsibility for the airstrikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Saturday, December 21. The statement said the attacks were aimed at stopping and reducing Houthi operations against warships in the Red Sea.
A member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, stressed that the US attacks on Yemen “will not lead to the cessation of support for the oppressed people of Gaza.”
Meanwhile, the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Seri, in a statement to their TV channel, claimed that they had launched attacks on the cities of Askalan and Jaffa with two “Jaffa” type drones. Seri stated that they would not stop their attacks on Israel in support of the Palestinian resistance and that the attacks would continue until the attacks on Gaza stopped and the blockade was lifted.
