Israel vows to target Houthi leaders, says 'will act against them to remove threat'

Tel Aviv, Israel

After Houthi militants in Yemen fired ballistic missiles in Israel on Tuesday (Dec 24), Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Israel will begin targeting the Houthi rebel group leaders, further vowing that Israel will not allow missile and drone fire on the country. 

Israel, however, intercepted the missile fired by the Houthi group, but sirens wailed in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel in the morning.

The Israeli military said the missile had been successfully intercepted outside of its territory, adding that there were no reports of casualties. 

“Just as we took care of Sinwar in Gaza, Haniyeh in Tehran, and Nasrallah in Beirut, we will deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sana’a or anywhere in Yemen,” Katz said, referring to the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah. 

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"We will act both against their infrastructure and against them to remove the threat,” he added. 

Katz further threatened the Houthis' Iranian backers, vowing “whoever sponsors the Houthi terror in Hodeida or Sana’a will pay the full price.”

Iran-backed Houthis have been involved in firing on Israel as they are showing solidarity with their allies after the October 7 attack. 

Watch | Israel-Hamas War: Netanyahu Says, 'Ordered Israeli Forces To Destroy Houthi Infrastructure'

However, now the attacks have been happening more frequently, raising the chances of retaliation. 

Earlier on Monday, Katz threatened to assassinate Houthi leaders to persuade them to agree to the terms. 

“We will inflict a devastating blow to the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen,” said Katz. “We will hit its strategic infrastructure and behead its leadership.”

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(With inputs from agencies)