Israeli publication N12News said Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told President Joe Biden that Israel will act militarily against Yemen's Houthi movement if the United States fails to do so.
While the Houthi group has intensified its attacks on Israel and Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea, Israel's restraint keeps dwindling. Accordingly, direct military action against the Houthis in Yemen is a possibility.
N12News posted on X Saturday that Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel's national security chief of staff, said that Israel has the intention to respond to the group that has attacked and seized several Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab strait.
Hanegbi said, "Netanyahu informed Biden: if you don't act against the (Houthis), we will act militarily."
On October 19, the Houthi group declared its responsibility for firing missiles and drones at Israel. At the time, they made no mention of their plans to attack Israeli ships in the Red Sea. However, on November 19, the group seized the Israeli-linked ship Galaxy Leader and declared that all ships owned or operated by Israel would be a "legitimate target" in retaliation against Israel for its brutal war on Gaza.
Yesterday, the Houthi group escalated its war on Israeli vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas, saying that any ship heading to Israel would be hit regardless of the country they belong to.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahia Sarea said all ships sailing to Israeli ports are banned from the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
"If Gaza does not receive the food and medicine it needs, all ships in the Red Sea bound for Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality, will become a target for our armed forces," the spokesperson said in a statement.
The group said it is committed to "the continuation of the global trade movement through the Red and Arab Bahrain for all ships and all countries except for ships linked to Israel or that will transport goods to Israeli ports."
With the support of the Iranian intelligence, the Houthi group has adequate information about vessels sailing in the Red Sea. The information enables the group to hit the ships linked to Israel or the ones that head for Israel.
Sheba Intelligence's report revealed that the US intelligence informed its allies in the Gulf that Iran sent three commercial ships to the Red Sea. These three ships carry out the mission of logistical support for the Houthis and provide them with the intelligence information they need about Israeli or American targets in the Red Sea.
Iran has chosen the Houthi group because Yemen is in the ideal geographic location to escalate the fighting in the region, analysts close to the Iranian government told the New York Times. According to Iranian analysts, Tehran chose its proxy in Yemen because they are close enough to the Red Sea's strategic waterways to disrupt global shipping and far enough from Israel to make retaliatory strikes difficult.
As the Houthi group intensifies its harassment of Israel, the group expects attacks on its positions in Yemen. However, it has begun preparing for the war scenario. Military sources told Sheba Intelligence that the Houthis began deploying more naval missiles along the coastal strip and some islands with naval operations rooms. Besides, the group has startedmaintaining warplanes that were owned by the Yemeni state. According to the sources, the warplanes were hidden on the outskirts of Sanaa and had been moved to Al-Dailami Air Base in Sanaa to be prepared for operating again.
