Attacking vital facilities in Yemen: Israeli insistence on the crime despite UN warnings

In this context, the Hebrew website noted that the Military Intelligence Division of the occupation army, "Aman", led by Major General Shlomi Bender, "has already begun at this stage several measures to establish an independent unit to collect information and monitor the movements and activities of the Houthis, including collecting information with the help of foreign armies and intelligence agencies whose interests intersect with Israel, against the Houthis."

In addition to the above, the website stated that there is a "trend by the Israeli political level to create a much broader alliance than the existing alliance against the Houthis, by strengthening and increasing attacks against vital national facilities in Yemen, and the infrastructure that supports the armed organizations there, including targeting prominent figures from the Houthi group."

Walla attributed the aforementioned trend to "the fact that Israeli intelligence agencies are facing restrictions and difficulties in identifying high-value targets in Yemen," referring to targets whose destruction might push the Houthis to retreat from the "support front" that they opened as part of their "support for Gaza" against the war of extermination that Israel is waging against the Palestinians.

Senior military officials believe that targeting vital facilities in Yemen is the “best option,” however, the Israeli security establishment supports “directly targeting Houthi leaders and their capabilities.”

But according to the intelligence information available to the Israeli army, as the website reports, “the organization’s senior leaders are hiding in caves, which makes it difficult to find them; they follow a (hiding) model similar to that followed by Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.”

In this context, the website stated that during deliberations held by the Israeli security establishment, a number of generals in the Israeli army presented a clear position stating that “without harming the Houthis’ supply chain and without countermeasures targeting them, it will be difficult to achieve the desired goal of deterring them,” in contrast to previous recommendations to target Iran directly instead of the Houthis, in order to deter the latter.

A greater American role

In addition, the website quoted an Israeli security official as saying, "The Houthis are an independent organization and will not stop their operations against Israel if we attack Iran. It has been proven recently that even when Iran asks them to stop, they do not really listen. In order to achieve a result, they must be hit."

According to Kan 11's military affairs correspondent, Itai Blumenthal, more than 20 Israeli aircraft took part in the latest operation, which included combat, refueling and reconnaissance missions, targeting Iranian arms smuggling routes to the Houthis.

He pointed out that carrying out the operation in broad daylight was aimed at creating a psychological impact, while confirming Israel's readiness to carry out more attacks, with efforts to mobilize other countries, especially the United States, to participate in the operations.

For his part, Alon Ben David, a military affairs analyst on Channel 13, explained that Israel is aware of the limitations of its ability to decide in Yemen, noting that the conflict will not be resolved by individual attacks.

He pointed out that there are two main constraints that hinder the operations, the first of which is the weakness of the Israeli intelligence base in Yemen, and the other is the need to use air power only due to the long distance, which makes targeting a large number of sites in a short time impossible.

While Ben David stressed that the biggest challenge facing Israel is convincing the United States that the Houthis represent a global threat, not just an Israeli problem, calling for a greater American role through the deployment of naval and air forces in the region, which Israel is unable to achieve on its own.

On the other hand, Channel 11 reported that Houthi spokesmen confirmed that the Israeli attack would not deter them, pledging to continue targeting Israel in support of Gaza.

In turn, Nir Dvori, the military affairs correspondent for Channel 12, said that the confrontation with the Houthis has become part of a long series of operations, which raises questions about the extent of Israel's readiness to bear the consequences of entering into a long war of attrition, especially with the Houthis' ability to continue launching drones and missiles.

Former deputy commander of the Israeli Air Force, Nimrod Sheffer, warned of the dangers of entering into a war of attrition, pointing to the psychological impact that attacks have on Israelis, as millions are forced to enter shelters with every missile threat, even if the missiles do not hit their targets.

For his part, the former head of the Military Intelligence Division, Amos Yadlin, stressed that the great distance separating Israel from Yemen increases the complexity of military operations.
He explained that the Israeli Air Force is currently focusing on trying to impose a blockade on arms imports from Iran to Yemen, including money, missile components and drones, by targeting Yemeni ports and airports.

UN warning

The United Nations warned on Friday that any disruption to the work of Sanaa International Airport or the port of Hodeidah could lead to the paralysis of humanitarian operations in Yemen, in light of the significant increase in the country's relief needs.

The Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations in Yemen, Julien Harneis, pointed out that the Israeli airstrikes on Sanaa airport on Thursday coincided with his presence at the airport with the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was preparing to leave Sanaa as part of a UN delegation.

“Two airstrikes occurred approximately 300 metres north and south of where Dr Tedros and I were,” he said, adding: “The most frightening thing about the two airstrikes was not the impact on us, but that they occurred while a Yemenia civilian plane carrying hundreds of passengers was about to land.”

He continued: "The plane was able to land safely, and the passengers were able to get off it despite the destruction of the airport control tower, but it could have been much worse."

Explaining the importance of Sana'a Airport and the danger of disrupting its work, Harnis said that this airport is used by thousands of people who are unable to obtain decent and advanced health care in Yemen to go to other countries such as Jordan and Egypt.

He added that Sana'a airport is where all international humanitarian workers operating in northern Yemen enter and leave. According to the security official, this airport is "a very vital humanitarian site" and disrupting its work "could paralyze humanitarian operations" in Yemen.

Harneis also warned that the airstrikes on the port of Hodeidah are "particularly worrying," especially since the port is the main gateway for imported goods and commodities into Yemen.

He explained that Yemen imports nearly 80 percent of its food supplies, and therefore the disruption of the operation of this port means that the entire population of northern Yemen, which constitutes between 65 and 70 percent of the population, will be in increasing humanitarian need.

Harneis revealed that about 18 million people in Yemen need humanitarian aid, representing almost half of the population, noting that the number may rise to 19 million due to the deterioration of the economy.

He said: "Yemen ranks second in the world in the percentage of children suffering from malnutrition, second in the percentage of people unable to access health services, and third in the percentage of those suffering from food insecurity."

The UN coordinator warned that the continued escalation between the Houthis and Israel could lead to additional impacts on civilian infrastructure, including ports, airports and roads, which would increase the suffering of the Yemeni people, calling on all parties to "adhere to international humanitarian law" to avoid aggravating the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Yemen.