U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke overnight Saturday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to reaffirm Washington’s commitment to the Jewish state’s security following the deadly Houthi attack on Tel Aviv and the IDF’s response in Yemen.
“Secretary Austin acknowledged Israel’s action followed months of Houthi attacks against the State of Israel. The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and Israel’s right to self-defense,” according to a Pentagon readout of the call.
Israeli Air Force jets struck Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday night following a deadly drone attack by the Iran-backed group in Tel Aviv the previous day.
“From the beginning of the war, I made it clear that Israel would harm anyone who harms us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in public remarks late Saturday.
The IAF strikes, which Israel said hit several “military targets” in the port city of Hodeidah, appeared to be the first on Yemeni soil since the Houthis joined the war against the Jewish state in support of Hamas in October.
Netanyahu said the strikes were a “direct response to the drone attack that killed an Israeli citizen and wounded several others. It also followed the Houthis’ aggression against the State of Israel since the start of the war. Over the past eight months, the Houthis have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones towards Israel.”
An Israeli man was killed and four other persons were wounded at 3:12 a.m. on Friday when what the Israel Defense Forces described as an “aerial target” exploded in a residential neighborhood in central Tel Aviv. The slain man was identified as Yevgeny Ferder, 50.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they used an advanced suicide drone dubbed “Jaffa.” Hagari confirmed that the UAV was an Iranian-made Samad-3, which was upgraded to increase its strike range.
Netanyahu said on Saturday that the retaliation against the Houthis hit targets some 1,120 miles from the Jewish state. “There is no place that the long arm of the State of Israel cannot reach,” he said.
