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Israel Takes Aim At Last Iranian Proxy Standing - The Houthis
Hotair ^ | 12/19/2024 | Ed Morrissey

Posted on 12/19/2024 3:48:59 PM PST by SeekAndFind

Hezbollah -- or what's left of it -- sued for peace. Hamas -- or what's left of it -- will shortly blink out of existence if it doesn't do the same. Bsshar al-Assad has fled the region, and with it Iran's last connections to two of its three proxy terror groups in the region. 

That leaves the Houthis in Yemen, who have the same sense of impeccable timing as their fellow terrorists. Just as Israel began consolidating its positions on their borders with Syria and Lebanon and considered what to do about the Houthis, the Yemen group lobbed two ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv. And that prompted the kind of response from Israel that they wanted to deliver all along:

Israel Air Force (IAF) fighter jets struck Houthi terror targets in the capital of Sana'a in Yemen during the early hours of Thursday morning, as 14 aircraft were already in the air as Yemen fired a ballistic missile towards Israel, the military announced. 

The IDF added that the targets Israel struck were used by the Houthis for military purposes, which included smuggling Iranian weapons into the country. The IDF also confirmed that ports and energy infrastructure in Sana'a were hit during the strikes. 

This time, the Israelis had more ambitions than just a demonstration of capabilities. They targeted all three ports used by the Houthis for weapons transfers as well as commercial traffic, and began hitting command locations in the captured capital for the first time:

Israeli military sources said the strikes in Yemen were aimed at paralyzing all three ports used by the Iran-backed Houthis on the coast of the country. 

All of the tugboats used to bring ships into ports were struck in the Israeli attack, as were power stations.

In Israel’s previous attack on the Hodeida port, the cranes used to unload shipments were struck.

Israel now believes that all activity at the ports controlled by the Houthis is paralyzed, sources said.

Iran has apparently not gotten the message that they have lost their wider war, not even after Israel's defeat of Hezbollah cost them their Assad puppet in Damascus. The IDF made that explicitly clear after the strikes in Sana'a and in Hodeidah:

⭕️ IAF fighter jets struck military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and in inland Yemen.

Over the past year, the Houthi terrorist regime has been operating with the direction and funding of Iran, and in cooperation with Iraqi militias in… pic.twitter.com/hYNRstbhxP— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 19, 2024

Benjamin Netanyahu followed up by warning the Houthis and everyone else that the Israelis are done with symmetric responses. He also emphasized that the Israelis are not the only target of Iranian proxy terror attacks, but that Israel will be happy to deliver enough of an asymmetric response on behalf of all:

Hours after the Israel Defense Forces carried out intense airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel’s operations are protecting not just itself from the Iran-backed rebel group but the entire world.

“They are not only attacking us,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “They are attacking the entire world. They are attacking international shipping and trade routes.” ...

“When Israel acts against the Houthis, it acts for the entire international community,” Netanyahu said, adding that the US and many others “understand this well.”

He suggested that the rebel group was among the last Iranian proxies still active “after Hamas, Hezbollah and the Assad regime in Syria.”

The Houthis, he said, “are learning and they will learn the hard way that anyone who attacks Israel pays a very heavy price.”

The Houthis responded today by declaring that they will continue attacking Israel while hostilities continue in Gaza. If they believe that their long-range attacks will deflect Israel from their determination to destroy Hamas, they really should look at the massive changes in the region over the last four months. Hezbollah had the exact same ambition, and they were both better prepared and much better positioned to take on Israel in service to a "unified battleground" on behalf of their Iranian masters. Instead, Israel utterly destroyed them and with them the last remaining strut holding up Assad. 

However, the conflict in Gaza may come to an end soon anyway, or at least pause for a significant period of time. Netanyahu called a security cabinet meeting to discuss developments in negotiations with Hamas, which might signal a deal is getting closer to fruition:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to hold a high-level meeting on Thursday with top security officials as efforts to reach a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas appeared to gather momentum, Israeli televion reported Wednesday.

Netanyahu’s planned assessment, which will include Defense Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, comes as CIA chief William Burns reportedly arrived in Qatar Wednesday night to try and hammer out the outstanding issues. Channel 12 news said that if there was progress, senior Israeli officials would join the talks.

And in a sign of the approaching endgame, Netanyahu has reduced the number of people involved in the negotiating efforts and instructed them not to share any details about the talks, the network said, noting the insistence was out of concern that far-right members of his coalition could step up pressure to torpedo the deal as it nears.

If so, then perhaps what's left of Hamas has more sense than the Houthis. Or maybe this will give the Houthis a face-saving way to back down and preserve at least one Iranian proxy for a little while longer. 



TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Israel; News/Current Events; Yemen
KEYWORDS: commerce; houthis; iran; shipping; terrorism; trade
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1 posted on 12/19/2024 3:48:59 PM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

The Biden regime should have done this years ago.

President Biden, instead, delivered billions of dollars to the Iranians.


2 posted on 12/19/2024 3:54:48 PM PST by marktwain (The Republic is at risk. Resistance to the Democratic Party is Resistance to Tyranny. )
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To: SeekAndFind

Not another dime for Israel


3 posted on 12/19/2024 3:56:57 PM PST by circlecity
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To: circlecity

Huh? You on the right forum my friend?


4 posted on 12/19/2024 3:58:40 PM PST by AndyJackson
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To: SeekAndFind

The Houthis..the filth that the filth Biden let F over ths Navy like a boss and close the Suez?


5 posted on 12/19/2024 3:59:46 PM PST by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: circlecity

Dude, the dimes are spent in America.


6 posted on 12/19/2024 4:01:51 PM PST by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: circlecity

Just what are you talking about? Go to your leftist anti-Israel forum!


7 posted on 12/19/2024 4:03:32 PM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Am Yisrael Chai ~)
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To: circlecity

Troll. They are doing what Biden won’t.


8 posted on 12/19/2024 4:08:09 PM PST by wgmalabama (For rent….)
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To: SkyDancer

lol. Go spend your own money on Israel. They don’t deserve a dime of American taxpayer money. Not a dime.


9 posted on 12/19/2024 4:13:21 PM PST by circlecity
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To: wgmalabama

lol. Israel can take care of themselves. Not a dime of American money.


10 posted on 12/19/2024 4:14:46 PM PST by circlecity
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To: circlecity
#Comment blocked for content
11 posted on 12/19/2024 4:15:22 PM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Am Yisrael Chai ~)
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To: SeekAndFind

I’m tiptoeing thru the Comments...
.
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem!


12 posted on 12/19/2024 4:16:05 PM PST by Big Red Badger (ALL Things Will be Revealed !)
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To: SkyDancer

You can’t block a thing loser.


13 posted on 12/19/2024 4:16:59 PM PST by circlecity
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To: SeekAndFind

Houthis were blocking the Red sea entrance for a long while.
Biden response was, like usual, worthless.
We were even giving money to Houthis, in the name of humanitarian help!!!
Instead giving money to Iran and Houthis, we should crush Houthis a long time ago!
Not waiting for Israel to do the dirty job for us!
But good, finally something is done with the Houthis.


14 posted on 12/19/2024 4:23:41 PM PST by AZJeep
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To: circlecity
#Blocked and muted
15 posted on 12/19/2024 4:44:43 PM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Am Yisrael Chai ~)
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To: SkyDancer

Yet I can still send you a message to fk off. Lol.


16 posted on 12/19/2024 4:56:17 PM PST by circlecity
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To: circlecity

Money for Israel can be taken from the UN Budget. A win for all involved, except Globalists.


17 posted on 12/19/2024 5:18:02 PM PST by cowboyusa (YESHUA IS KING OF AMERICA, AND HE WILL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE HIM!)
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To: cowboyusa

Or we could just keep it for America. A better win.


18 posted on 12/19/2024 5:21:41 PM PST by circlecity
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To: SeekAndFind

“Israel Air Force (IAF) fighter jets struck Houthi terror targets in the capital of Sana’a in Yemen during the early hours of Thursday morning, as 14 aircraft”

Oh, those poor Houthi civilians, they’re suffering now thanks to the Israeli Genocide!!! Or at least that’s how the anti-semites view it.


19 posted on 12/19/2024 5:24:56 PM PST by BobL
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s not enough. IDF needs to continue to demolish them for days on end.


20 posted on 12/19/2024 5:33:21 PM PST by montag813
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