Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against Yemen’s Houthi rebels after they fired a missile at Tel Aviv, warning that Israel would target what he described as the last remaining arm of “Iran’s axis of evil”, AFP reports.
The Houthis struck Israel’s commercial hub on Saturday with what they claimed was a ballistic missile, injuring 16 people and forcing many to leave their homes following the pre-dawn attack.
“As we acted with force against the terrorist arms of Iran’s axis of evil, so we will act against the Houthis… with force, determination and sophistication,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.
The latest Israeli strike against the Houthis was on Thursday, with Israeli warplanes striking Sanaa for the first time. The Israeli response came soon after the rebels fired a missile that damaged an Israeli school.
On Sunday, Netanyahu acknowledged Washington’s backing, saying that Israel was “not alone” in its fight against the Houthis. “The US, as well as other countries, see the Houthis as a threat not only to international shipping - but to the international order”, Netanyahu said in his video statement.
In a similar statement issued earlier this week, Netanyahu said, “After Hamas, Hezbollah and the (Bashar al-)Assad regime in Syria, the Houthis are almost the last arm of Iran’s axis of evil.”
