Netanyahu Pledges Strong Response against Iranian-Backed Houthis, May Defer Mossad Advice to Strike Iran 'Head'
JERUSALEM, Israel – After days of Houthi missile launchings against Israel, the leader of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, has advocated a strike on Iran. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to prefer a more cautious approach in consultation with the U.S. and other allies.
An Iranian-made hypersonic missile hit the town of Jaffa south of Tel Aviv on Saturday, injuring at least 16 people.
According to Israeli officials quoted in Ynet News, Barnea addressed a weekend security meeting suggesting that Israel should "Go for the head, Iran."
Netanyahu pledged that his government will deal strongly with the Houthi threat from Yemen, noting, "Just as we have acted forcefully against the terror arms of Iran’s axis of evil, so too will we act against the Houthis.”
The prime minister added that it has allies in the fight. “In this case, we are not acting alone," he said. "The U.S. and other nations see the Houthis as a threat not only to international shipping but to the global order.”
U.S. forces in the Red Sea struck Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, shortly after the attack on Israel. Early Sunday, two U.S. pilots were shot down in what officials called “an apparent case of friendly fire,” when gunners on the USS Gettysburg fired at the pilots. Both were rescued.
Netanyahu urged war-weary Israelis to continue to abide by the government's instructions from the Home Front.
“What I ask of you, citizens of Israel, is to be patient, to continue showing the same resilience that you have shown up until now, and to strictly follow the [IDF] Home Front Command directives,” he stated.
Using increasingly sophisticated missiles and other weapons provided by Iran, the Houthi rebels have succeeded in disrupting life for hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in and around Tel Aviv, in the nation's major population cluster.
Netanyahu prefers to follow the advice of the Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence officials to attack Houthi positions in Yemen now, rather than take Barnea's advice of a direct hit on Iran in the near future, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post. The thinking behind that is that an attack on the Iranian regime would be more advisable after President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
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