Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that if Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi comes into Israel's crosshairs, he will be eliminated. Katz made the statement during a rare live interview on Channel 14, and did not announce an imminent military operation against the group.
Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a direct threat against Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi during a live interview on Channel 14 at approximately 19:30 Wednesday evening, saying, "If the leader of the Houthis comes into our crosshairs — he will be eliminated." The statement marks the clearest personal threat against al-Houthi from a senior Israeli official, and came hours after Katz had earlier Wednesday claimed Israel has eliminated the entire Houthi leadership except for al-Houthi, whom he described as hiding in tunnels.
The thread of Katz's statements on the Houthi leadership unfolded throughout Wednesday. At 13:27 Jerusalem, The Zioneer first reported Katz saying the "account remains open" with the Houthis and that their leader is a legitimate target for assassination if located. That statement, published by Channel 14 host Hillel Biton Rosen on Telegram, was followed within the same hour by a more expansive version in which Katz claimed the entire Houthi leadership has been eliminated except for al-Houthi, who he said is hiding in tunnels — adding, "If he comes into our crosshairs — he will die." The live interview on Wednesday evening then delivered the most direct iteration yet, as Katz repeated the threat in a primetime broadcast. Across all three versions, the source is exclusively Katz's own statements, with no independent confirmation from the IDF or Israeli intelligence.
The statements come against the backdrop of an ongoing campaign of missile and drone launches by the Houthis toward Israel and Israeli airstrikes on targets in Yemen, as The Zioneer has reported. The desk previously reported, citing a single source, that the IDF is preparing for a large-scale strike on Houthi targets — a report that remains unverified. Katz's repeated threats suggest the political echelon is signaling an intent to target the Houthi leadership directly, but the timeline and operational details of any such action remain unspecified.
It remains unclear whether Katz's claim that Israel has eliminated the entire Houthi leadership except al-Houthi has been verified by intelligence or is a rhetorical statement. The desk has not obtained independent confirmation of that assertion from the IDF or Shin Bet, and no specific names or operations have been cited. The IDF's reported preparations for a large-scale strike in Yemen also remain unconfirmed by additional sources.
3 developments
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- DevelopingDefense Minister Katz: 'We will not leave a situation where our soldiers are harmed unilaterally'
Source and signal
- Internal intake