Israel threatened the Houthis rebels of Yemen with “heavy” military strikes and warned the group’s Iranian sponsors that they would suffer the same fate as the other regional enemies of Israel if the attacks against the country did not stop.
Speaking two days after the United States announced that it had reached a cease-fire with the Yemeni terrorist group, the Minister of Defense Israel Katz called Israel to be able to defend himself even if he is deprived of American support, because some Israeli officials have expressed private concerns concerning the ramifications of the American agreement.
“The Houthis will absorb the heavy blows of Israel if they continue to shoot us. The FDIs are prepared for a mission,” Katz said in a statement early Thursday morning.
He added that Iran, which is accused of financing and armaments of the Houthis, would also be targeted, saying that a range of other Iranian proxy groups which had targeted Israel since the war in Gaza broke out with Hamas on October 7, 2023, the aggression “collapsed”.
“I also stop Iranian leadership that finances, weapons and operates the Houthi terrorist organization … You are directly responsible. What we have done in Hezbollah in Beirut, Hamas in Gaza, Assad in Damascus and the Houthis in Yemen, will also be done in Téhran “in Téhran”
The declaration made after Israel made two days of heavy outings targeting the infrastructure controlled by the Houthis in response to a missile which struck Ben Gurion airport on Sunday. Ardent reprisals destroyed the international airport in the Sanaa capital and caused heavy damage to a port of Hodeida and a cement plant, officials said.
Houthis, who has repeatedly pulled missiles and drones on Israel throughout the war, most of whom were slaughtered, have sworn to retaliate.
Wednesday, Israeli defense forces said that a missile pulled by the Houthis crashed outside the Israeli territory. Earlier in the day, the FDIs said that he had shot down a drone that may have been launched from Yemen.
Defense Minister Israel Katz at Knesset in Jerusalem, April 24, 2025. (Arie Leib Abrams / Flash90)
The attacks occurred while Houthi officials have clearly indicated that an agreement in which they agreed to stop targeting American maritime activity in the Red Sea in exchange for an end to weeks of intense American air strikes on the group included no agreement to stop shooting Israel or on ships related to the Jewish State.
US President Donald Trump announced the agreement on an oval appearance on Tuesday with the United States and Israeli officials saying that Jerusalem had not been informed of the pact in advance.
The news was greeted by “astonishment” in Jerusalem, an Israeli official on Thursday at the Times of Israel.
“Some fear that there are more surprise movements,” said the manager. “Others say we should wait and see how it goes.”
US President Donald Trump speaks before Steve Witkoff was sworn in as a special interview during a ceremony at the Oval Blanche office in Washington on May 6, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)
Located more than 2,000 miles from Yemen, Israel has a limited capacity to carry out strikes and to exert military pressure on the Houthis, with Jerusalem counting strongly on American support throughout the war. Analysts expressed concerns on Wednesday that a judgment of American military action would allow the terrorist organization to regroup while continuing to attack Israel.
Officials also expressed private concerns concerning American nuclear talks with potential Israeli military action of Tehran against the Islamic Republic.
But Katz said on Thursday that Israel does not need to count on Washington’s support or support.
“Israel must be able to defend itself alone against any threat or enemy. It was true in the past and will be in the future,” he said.
Firefighters have a burning plane with water at Sanaa International Airport on May 7, 2025. (Mohammed Huwais / AFP)
The republican senator Lindsey Graham de Caroline du Sud, one of Trump’s main loyalists at the Congress, said on Wednesday that Israel would be alone to defend himself against Iran’s attacks and his proxies.
“Regarding the Houthis who continue to attack Israel – they do so at the risk of Iran. Without Iran, Houthis do not have the capacity to attack America, international delivery or Israel,” Graham wrote on X. “To my friends in Israel, do what you have to do to protect your Airspace and your people.
Katz’s statement seemed to echo recent threats from the Trump administration who had warned against military action against Iran if the Houthi attacks continued.
The takeoff of the Israeli air force hunters for air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen on May 5, 2025. (Israeli defense forces)
According to CNN, negotiations between the United States and the Houthis were stimulated by remarks by the US Secretary for Defense Pete Hegseth, who posted last week that Iran “will pay the consequences at the time and at the place of our choice” if it continued “a lethal support for the Houthis”.
With Hezbollah and Hamas, Yemen Houthi rebels are part of Iran’s “resistance axis” against Israel and its ally the United States.
Hezbollah began to launch attacks in October 2023 in support of its Hamas ally following the unprecedented attack of the Gaza -based group against southern Israel.
People lead to a street after portraits of Lebanese Lebanese leader Hassan Nasrallah and damaged buildings in Israeli strikes during the recent war, in the middle of the first round of municipal elections, in the Ghobeiry district of the southern suburbs of Beirut on May 4, 2025. (Anwar Amro / AFP)
In a year of hostilities that ended with a truce in November, the Israeli army practically crushed Hezbollah, while the management of Hamas was decimated in the war triggered by the attack on October 7.
Hezbollah’s loss of support was considered a major factor in the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, which came a few days after the November ceasefire. Iraqi groups thought of being part of the network have also interrupted attacks on Israel since last year.
In recent weeks, Iranians have repeatedly said that they had no control over the Houthis.
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
