Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen Feb. 6, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Despite carrying out three series of airstrikes in Yemen over the past months, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have not yet succeeded in preventing the missile and drone attacks from the Houthi terrorists, who continue to threaten Israel.
“As long as children in Gaza are being killed every day, the Zionists will not be allowed to sleep,” Houthi official Hezam al-Asad threatened in a Hebrew-language post on 𝕏.
The threat from the Yemeni terror group is unique in several aspects, which have severely limited Israel’s options to respond.
According to a report in Walla News, the IDF’s intelligence branch has so far struggled to create detailed target lists like the kind that enabled the Israeli Air Force to rapidly degrade the vaunted missile force of Hezbollah and eliminate its leadership.
The sheer distance from Israel, as well as the fact that the Houthis never actively attacked Israel before Oct. 7 of last year, meant that the IDF’s intelligence units were not prepared when the Houthis declared their support for Hamas by starting to launch ballistic missiles and drones against Israel.
Another factor preventing intelligence collection and effective bombardment is the fact that the Houthi’s top leaders are reportedly hiding in caves, reminiscent of the tactics of the leadership of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Citing security sources, Walla said that Israel’s security brass estimates that without a broad coalition and intense, concerted waves of airstrikes, taking out the Houthis could take a long time.
Security officials have advised accelerating intelligence collection processes across Israel’s intelligence community, which includes the Mossad, as well as the creation of new units with expertise in geographical areas far from the country’s borders, such as Yemen.
IDF Intelligence Chief Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder has already ordered the creation of new units tasked with collecting intelligence on the Houthis. These efforts include collaborating with foreign militaries experienced in combating the terror group, potentially involving the armed forces of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Top IDF generals continue to caution against striking Iran directly in response to Houthi attacks, as has been advocated by Mossad Director David Barnea .
“The Houthis are an independent organization,” a security source told Walla, “they will not stop their activity against Israel if they attack Iran.”
“It has recently been proven that even when Iran tells them to stop, they don’t really listen. Therefore, in order to achieve a result, the Houthis must be hurt,” he added.
Like the Iranian regime, the Houthis follow an extreme Shia Muslim ideology and over the years have received training and advanced weapons from the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
