Israeli minister threatens to assassinate Houthi leader: Report
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen has threatened to assassinate Yemeni Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi as regional tensions escalate over Israel’s war on Gaza, local media report.
“I’m sending a message to the Houthi leader that if he continues with his actions, he will end up exactly like [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar and [Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan] Nasrallah,” Cohen told Israeli radio station 94 FM.
Sinwar was killed by Israeli military forces in Gaza in October while Nasrallah was assassinated in an Israeli strike in Beirut in September.
“Our focus now is on Yemen and Iran,” Cohen said. “It should be said that unless Iran is harmed, instability in the Middle East will continue.”
Last week, Israel launched air strikes against Houthi-held positions in the capital, Sanaa, and the coastal province of Hodeidah in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile attacks.
Over the past year, Houthis have targeted ships in and around the Red Sea with missiles and drones in a show of support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Israel works to gain ‘legitimacy’ for more attacks on Yemen, Iran at UN
The Israeli delegation to the UN told an emergency meeting of the Security Council convened at Israel’s request that the Houthis in Yemen “are a terrorist army built and funded by Iran”.
“We will cut off that hand, and Iran will pay the price,” Ambassador Danny Danon said, adding that “the Houthis will share the same miserable fate as Hamas, Hezbollah and Assad” in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, the Israeli envoy said, “It is important that we get legitimacy for significant [military] action, also from the US and Britain”.
Earlier today, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called on all countries “who seek global stability” to designate the Yemeni group as a “terrorist” organisation.
The Houthis have been launching attacks on Israel, US warships and commercial vessels mainly in the Red Sea for over a year in a stated effort to stop the war on Gaza. Israel has launched four massive rounds of air strikes across Yemen in the past few months, and the US and UK have launched numerous attacks.
Essay Pro