DUBAI: The leader of Yemen’s Houthis said Thursday that retaliation for an Israeli strike on a port under the control of the Iran-backed militants was inevitable.
The vow added to regional tensions that have soared after Iran vowed reprisals against Israel for the high-profile killings of two Tehran-allied militant leaders last week.
A response to Israel’s July 20 attack that targeted fuel storage tanks in Hodeida harbor is “inevitable and will come,” Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said in a televised speech.
The battle with Israel was “at its zenith,” the militant chief added.
The Houthis are fighting Israel as part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance,” which includes militant groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
The delayed response by the Houthis and Iran’s regional allies to Israel’s latest moves was “purely tactical,” the militant chief said.
“The aim is a genuinely impactful response” in light of preemptive defense measures taken by Israel and its American backers, he added.
“The decision to respond is a decision made by everyone; at the level of the entire axis,” he said.
The Hodeida strike was the first claimed by Israel on the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country.
It came a day after the Houthis launched their first fatal strike on Israel — a drone attack in Tel Aviv that killed an Israeli civilian.
The Israeli response decimated the port’s fuel storage capacity and killed at least nine people, according to the militants.
Since November, the Houthis have launched a flurry of missile and drone strikes on Israel-linked shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
They say the campaign that has disrupted maritime traffic is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war.
“The decrease in maritime traffic is a great victory,” the Houthi leader said, adding that a total of 177 vessels had been targeted.
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Yemen’s Houthis say retaliation for Israel port strike ‘inevitable’
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Yemen’s Houthis say retaliation for Israel port strike ‘inevitable’
- The battle with Israel was “at its zenith,” the militant chief added.
- The Houthis are fighting Israel as part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance,” which includes militant groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon
Israel to take more West Bank powers and relax settler land buys, media say
JERUSALEM: Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.
The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).
Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank.
They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offenses and damage to archaeological sites.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.
The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.
In his statement, Abbas urged Trump and the UN Security Council to intervene.
Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel’s accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.
Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.
His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.
The United Nations’ highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.
The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).
Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank.
They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offenses and damage to archaeological sites.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.
The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.
In his statement, Abbas urged Trump and the UN Security Council to intervene.
Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel’s accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.
Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.
His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.
The United Nations’ highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.
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