Katz warns Iran, Houthis: Israel will strike with full force

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a sharp warning on Thursday morning in response to the recent escalation by Iranian-backed Houthi forces, declaring that “Israel must be able to defend itself independently against any threat and any enemy.”

In a statement posted in Hebrew on X, Katz wrote: “The Houthis will absorb heavy blows from Israel if they continue firing toward us. The IDF is prepared for any mission.”

Katz also directed his remarks at Tehran, stating unequivocally, “I warn the Iranian leadership that funds, arms and operates the Houthi terrorist organization: The proxy method is over and the axis of evil has collapsed. You bear direct responsibility. What we did to Hezbollah in Beirut, Hamas in Gaza, Assad in Damascus and the Houthis in Yemen—we will also do to you in Tehran.”

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Wednesday morning that it had intercepted a drone launched from the east, presumably from Yemen. Sirens were activated in accordance with protocol, though no casualties or damage were reported.

Katz’s statement follows a Houthi ballistic missile strike on Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday, which injured six people and temporarily disrupted air travel. In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched retaliatory strikes on strategic targets in Yemen, including Sanaa International Airport and weapons infrastructure near the Red Sea port of Hodeidah.

Despite an Oman-brokered ceasefire between the United States and the Houthis, the Iranian-backed group has openly declared that attacks on Israel will continue as long as fighting persists in Gaza.

The defense minister’s remarks reinforce Israel’s broader doctrine of confronting Iranian proxy forces across multiple fronts—from Lebanon to Syria, Gaza and Yemen—as part of a concerted campaign to degrade what Katz terms “the axis of evil.”

Israel’s government reiterated its stance in a joint statement Tuesday: “Whoever attacks the State of Israel will pay the price.”

The United Nations and other international actors have urged restraint amid growing fears of a regional conflagration, but Israeli officials maintain they will take all necessary action to defend the state against aggression from any direction.

“It is clear to any reasonable person that Iran and the Houthis are terrorist organizations that are disrupting global stability,” Religious Zionism lawmaker Moshe Solomon told JNS on Thursday.

“Iran poses a nuclear threat to the Western world, and this must be prevented immediately and unequivocally. A military strike against Iran is essential to maintaining world order. Meanwhile, the Houthis are disrupting international trade, causing economic harm on a global scale,” he continued.

“It is our duty—and the duty of the international community—to stop their rise, enforce consequences and weaken their capabilities. We are working, and will continue to work, closely with our allies on this issue,” Solomon said.