Netanyahu: Israel’s ‘long arm’ will reach its enemies anywhere
Benjamin Netanyahu has commended the IDF for conducting a "successful operation" over 1,700 kilometers from the nation's borders. For more information, visit RT.com.
![Netanyahu: Israel’s ‘long arm’ will reach its enemies anywhere](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2024.07/thumbnail/669c4c3f85f54004bd47a7c4.jpg?#)
The Israeli military initiated an unprecedented and extensive aerial assault on Yemen's port city of Hodeida on Saturday. This raid resulted in a significant blaze at the port's oil terminal and injured a minimum of 80 individuals, as per early reports from Sanaa's health ministry.
"The port we attacked is not an innocent port," Netanyahu asserted in a recorded statement released on Saturday evening. "It was used for military purposes, it was used as an entry point for deadly weapons supplied to the Houthis by Iran."
“This strike comes in direct response to the killer drone attack yesterday that killed one person and injured several others, a hundred yards from the US Consulate in Tel Aviv,” Netanyahu stated, days before his scheduled speech to the US Congress in Washington, DC.
In a Twitter post dated July 20, 2024, Netanyahu reiterated his stance:
“From the beginning of the war, I made it clear that Israel will act against all those who attack us.
This is why earlier today, I asked the Israeli cabinet to back my decision to strike against the Houthi targets in Yemen. pic.twitter.com/xWE3KXQaeV
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 20, 2024”
Following a drone attack lauded by Houthi rebels as a “significant military operation,” which resulted in one Israeli fatality and injuries to at least ten others on Friday, the IDF acknowledged an unspecified “human error” in their failure to counteract the drone effectively or provide timely warnings despite its prior detection by Israeli air defenses.
Israel’s operation on Yemen "makes it clear to our enemies that therequestion that Israel's reach is extensive," as per Netanyahu’s Hebrew comments referenced by the Times of Israel.
Additionally, Houthi forces have been targeting Israeli-connected ships since October, aligning themselves with the Palestinian cause in Gaza, despite airstrikes against them by a US and UK-led coalition, which have thus far seen limited success.
"The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required,” remarked Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in his statement on Saturday.
In retaliation for the Israeli assault, Mohamed Ali al-Houthi of Yemen's Supreme Political Council threatened more significant strikes through a post on X (formerly Twitter). Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam condemned the raid as "blatant Israeli aggression" intended "to increase the suffering of the people and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza."
Anna Muller for TROIB News