Israel PM warns Yemen rebels of 'heavy price' after missile attack

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Yemen's Houthi rebels of retaliation after the group claimed a missile attack on central Israel.

"This morning, the Houthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen into our territory. They should have known by now that we charge a heavy price for any attempt to harm us," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting, according to a statement from his office.

"Those who need a reminder in this matter are invited to visit the port of Hodeida," he added, referring to Yemen's Red Sea city that Israeli warplanes bombed in July after the Houthis claimed a drone strike that killed a civilian in Tel Aviv.

The Huthis are among the Iran-backed groups in the Middle East that have been drawn into the conflict triggered by Hamas' attack on southern Israel.

On Israel's northern flank, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement has traded regular cross-border fire with Israeli forces in exchanges that threaten to spiral into all-out war.

Yesterday morning, about 40 projectiles were fired from Lebanon towards Israel's Upper Galilee region and the annexed Golan Heights, Israel's military said.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border, and Netanyahu said that the current situation was not sustainable.

"The existing situation will not continue. We will do everything necessary to return our residents safely to their homes," he said.

"We are in a multi-arena campaign against Iran's evil axis that strives to destroy us."

Channel 13 also reported that Netanyahu made the statement during a strategic dialogue session to discuss the escalation on the northern front, without specifying the parties involved in the session.

Israel is “on the verge of a broad and strong operation on the northern front,” he said.

The channel quoted an unnamed senior official from Netanyahu's office who said, “No date has yet been set” for the escalation “but it is expected in the near future.”

In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, Israeli daily Haaretz claimed that Israel is recruiting African asylum seekers for life-threatening operations, promising permanent legal status.

Sources said that internal criticism of this exploitation has been silence, noting, “This is a very problematic matter.”