Netanyahu warns Houthis as Israel reportedly mulls new airstrike

Jerusalem, Dec 26 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Houthi forces in Yemen would face consequences similar to those experienced by other anti-Israel groups.

"The Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and others have learned, and even if it takes time, this lesson will be understood across the Middle East," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Houthi forces launched a ground-to-ground missile toward Israel for the second consecutive day. In the evening, they fired a drone, which crashed into an open field in southern Israel, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israel is reportedly weighing a new large-scale strike against Houthi forces in Yemen, following a series of retaliatory missile and drone launches attributed to the Houthis.

On Tuesday, Israel's state-owned Kan TV reported that the military has been preparing for a potential operation. Citing senior security officials, Kan TV said the Israeli Air Force, Military Intelligence, and Operations Directorate have been "developing significantly more aggressive plans and expanding the target database" across Yemen after the previous attack last week.

Since October last year, Houthi forces have launched sporadic missile and drone attacks on Israel, citing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has responded with several large-scale airstrikes, the most recent of which occurred last week, resulting in at least nine deaths.

On Wednesday morning, Israeli media reported that sirens sounded after a "missile" from Yemen approached Tel Aviv.

Yemen's Houthi group later said they launched two drones at the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Ashkelon on Wednesday, targeting "vital" and "industrial" areas.

"We carried out two military operations, the first of which targeted a vital and sensitive zone in Tel Aviv city. The second operation targeted the industrial zone in Ashkelon city," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement.

Source: IANS