GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 689

Houthis Hit Hard

Israel Hits Back

Many have talked about a strong attack on the Houthis in Yemen and now it’s happened as we’re told in a report from the Jewish News Syndicate:

The Israel Defense Forces attacked several key locations in Yemen on Sunday, including in the capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah, following the first-ever cluster missile fired by the Houthis at Israel on Friday night.

Israel hit the presidential palace among other sites:

The IDF said the targets included a military compound housing the presidential palace, the Asar and Hizaz power plants, and a fuel storage facility, all of which were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to support its attacks.

It’s no surprise that the Houthis use civilian sites just like Hamas and Hezbollah:

“The use of these plants constitutes further proof of how the Houthi regime uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes,” said the IDF.

Rather than a planned attack this was in response to the Houthis attacking Israel:

The strikes were in response to “repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs toward Israeli territory in recent days,” added the military.

The IDF was quick to state that Iran has its fingerprints all over the attack:

The IDF noted that the Houthis operate under Iranian direction and funding to target Israel and its allies, and exploit the maritime domain to project power and conduct attacks against global shipping and trade routes.

Netanyahu also made a strong statement in response to the Houthi attack:

“The Houthi terror regime is learning the hard way that it will pay and is paying a very heavy price for its aggression against the State of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday night.

“Anyone who attacks us—we attack them. Anyone planning to attack us—we attack them. I believe the entire region is learning the power and determination of the State of Israel,” he continued.

Israel’s Defense Minister said that the terrorists will pay a heavy price for sending those missiles:

Added Defense Minister Israel Katz: “For every missile the Houthis launch at Israel, they will pay with compound interest.”

The First Of Its Kind

The cluster missile was a first of its kind to be shot at Israel:

On Sunday, the Israeli Air Force revealed that the Houthis launched a cluster munition for the first time at the Jewish state, just after Shabbat began.

But another attack did get through:

The IDF spokesman said on Sunday that “the missed interception last Friday is being investigated and is not related to the type of missile that was launched.

Getting back to the recent attack, the IDF says they can handle these cluster missiles:

“The air defense systems, with an emphasis on the upper layer, know how to deal with and intercept missiles of this type, as they have intercepted [them] in the past,” the spokesman said.

(Upper layer air defense systems are designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles at high altitude, including outside the atmosphere.)

Even if they are intercepted, pieces can cause damage:

It was initially suspected that Israel failed to intercept the missile because it had fragmented in mid-air. One piece fell into a backyard but no one was hurt.

If not intercepted, the cluster missiles can be an issue. And the Iranian connection is an easy one to make:

The missile contained a warhead with 22 small, armed bombs, which explode when they fall. It’s an identical missile to one fired by the Iranians at Israeli territory in June, Israeli news site N12 reported.

Israel’s current attack wasn’t the first one and not the only one launched by the IAF:

Last Sunday, the IDF targeted a power station in the Sanaa area. According to reports, the Israeli Navy carried out the strike, marking the second time naval forces have been used against the Iranian-backed group instead of the Air Force. On June 10, Israeli missile boats targeted terror sites at the port of Hodeidah.

At some point Israel needs to end the Houthi threat once and for all. I think they can, although I reported that another army, the Saudi army, is very capable of defeating them if they so choose. As for Bible prophecy, Yemen will not always be an Iranian proxy threat. They are seen in Ezekiel 38 as being a diplomatic voice against Iran and the other war of Gog and Magog coalition threatening Israel in. How this will change the Bible doesn’t say. Regardless, they are trouble now and we need to pray they are neutralized sooner than later.