Israel Played Deadly Mind Games - Houthis Never Saw It Coming
Defense Minister Israel Katz hinted at assassinations, calling it “the plague of the firstborn,” while the IDF target bank against the Houthis continues to grow.
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Israel’s latest strike in Yemen was not just about airpower, it was about deception. According to military sources, the attack on Sana’a was preceded by a carefully planned ruse designed to “put the Houthis to sleep,” convincing them that Israel had no intelligence on the movements of their leadership. In reality, critical intelligence had been obtained, setting the stage for a precise and devastating assault.
The air raid, carried out on Thursday, hit multiple sites in Sana’a while Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi was delivering a speech broadcast on local channels. Saudi outlet Al-Hadath reported that the strikes targeted buildings in the Haddah neighborhood of southwest Sana’a, where senior officials had gathered. Israeli security officials told Reuters that within minutes, several high-ranking Houthis were surrounded across different safehouses as they prepared to watch the recorded address.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, who monitored the operation from the command bunker alongside IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, made his message clear after the strike: “As we warned the Houthis in Yemen: after the plague of darkness comes the plague of the firstborn. Whoever raises a hand against Israel, that hand will be cut off.”
The operation followed a string of missile launches from Yemen toward Israel in recent days, all of which were intercepted.
Only days earlier, Israeli warplanes struck key infrastructure in Sana’a, including the presidential palace complex, major power stations at Asar and Hejaz, and a military fuel depot. Israel claimed those targets were dual-use civilian-military facilities employed by the Houthi regime, while Houthi media reported casualties and severe power disruptions across the capital.
For Israel, the Yemen strikes signal a widening of its regional campaign, echoing tactics used against Hezbollah and Iran: combining sharp intelligence with expanding “target banks” meant to keep adversaries under constant pressure.
As one senior defense source described it: “This was not a single blow. It’s the beginning of a long shadow war.”