The News
Israel’s military launched major air strikes on targets across Yemen, hitting ports, airports, and power stations that Israeli officials said were controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
The Director-general of the World Health Organization said he was at Sana’a international airport in the Yemeni capital when it was attacked, adding that United Nations and WHO officials in his party were safe. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was in the country to negotiate the release of detained UN staff and to assess the humanitarian situation.
The strikes come less than a week after a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv injuring several residents.
Even as Israel ramps up strikes on the Houthis, military experts speaking to Jewish Insider said Israel could struggle to significantly weaken the Houthis: Israel has not prioritized intelligence-gathering in Yemen and the distance between the two countries — 1,300 miles — makes large operations difficult. Those challenges mean the Israeli Defense Force is “not able to do the things they could do against Hezbollah and Hamas,” one expert argued.
