Amid Yemen strikes, IDF chief says ‘we know how to reach even farther’

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Sunday that the IDF can precisely target terror a long way from the borders of the Jewish state.

During a situation assessment held while Israeli Air Force jets carried out strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Halevi said, “We know how to reach far, we also know how to reach even farther and strike accurately there.”

The targets of Sunday’s strike included power plants and two seaports, “which were used by the Houthis to transfer Iranian weapons to the region, in addition to military supplies and oil,” according to the IDF.

“The Houthis have been operating under the direction and funding of Iran, and in cooperation with Iraqi militias, in order to attack the State of Israel, undermine regional stability and disrupt global freedom of navigation,” the statement continued.

The major attack on the Iranian terror proxy came after the Houthis launched two ballistic missiles at central Israel in recent weeks.

Israel’s Arrow defense system intercepted a surface-to-surface ballistic missile fired at the Jewish state from Yemen on Friday, the IDF said. On Sept. 15, Israeli air defenses intercepted fragments of a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen that exploded over central Israel.

In July, a Houthi suicide drone killed an Israeli civilian in central Tel Aviv, in response to which Israel struck Yemen’s Hodeidah port, which was also one of the targets of Sunday’s strikes, along with the Ras Issa port.

The Houthi rebels have launched numerous attacks on the Jewish state in support of Hamas in the wake of the Palestinian terrorist group’s Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday echoed Halevi’s statement about the long arm of the IDF, in what some have construed as an indirect threat to Iran.

“‘I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till I destroyed them,” said Gallant, quoting from the Book of Psalms. “I followed the attack against the Houthis from the control room of the Air Force. The message is clear—for us, no place is too far.”