Israel's plan to strike Houthis amid shift in US strategy
Israeli officials believe the Houthis cannot be defeated alone, and therefore the Iran-backed group must be struck in coordination with the US and its coalition in the Red Sea
After the coalition attack in Yemen, Israeli officials assess that the Houthis cannot be defeated alone, and Israel must cooperate with the US and its allies, according to anchor Yossi Yehoshua on Sunday evening's Central Edition on i24NEWS' Hebrew channel with Naveh Dromi.
Yehoshua reported that Israel plans to defeat the Houthis by focusing on four areas: harming the leadership, destroying their weapons production system, harming the supply chain from Iran, and damaging the national infrastructure of Yemen.
In the midst of this, there is a debate in Israel among the security and political establishment over striking Iran, with some officials who advocate such a move believing that Tehran's influence on the Houthi is not as great as is attributed. Therefore, the expectation that a strike on Iran will lead to a cessation of Houthi launches is inaccurate.
Until now, Israeli strikes against the Houthis was done alone, although with some assistance from allies in the region, including the US.
Likewise, US CENTCOM attacks have yet to halt the Houthis threatening maritime traffic in the Red Sea or attacks on Israel.
Diplomatic correspondent Amichai Stein reported that in recent days Washington decided to change the course of action vis-a-vis Yemen by escalating attacks against the Houthi. The attack Saturday night is part of this decision.
The decision was made by the Biden administration, in coordination with Israel, after the US concluded that the threat had not diminished after a year of carrying out attacks against the Iran-backed group.