Zein Khalil, Rania Abu Shamala
07 May 2025•Update: 08 May 2025
JERUSALEM /ISTANBUL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening threatened that his army would launch more attacks on Yemen even if his "American friends" did not join.
His remarks came a day after the US and Yemen’s Houthi group reached a ceasefire agreement, mediated by Oman, which does not include Israel.
Commenting on the agreement, Netanyahu claimed in a televised speech: “Israel will defend itself by itself. We are doing this in Yemen, we are doing this in other places, at great distances.”
“If others join in, our American friends, even better,” Netanyahu said.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes in Yemen, targeting Sanaa airport, power stations, and industrial facilities, killing at least seven people and injuring 74 others.
The Houthis have targeted ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where over 52,600 people have been killed in a brutal Israeli assault for more than 19 months, most of them women and children.
The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, but resumed them after Israel's renewed airstrikes on Gaza in March.
Regarding the genocidal war in Gaza, Netanyahu said for the first time that only 21 Israeli hostages are still alive in the Strip, not 24 as previously believed.
Israeli estimates suggested before that 59 captives remain in Gaza, with 24 believed alive. In contrast, more than 9,500 Palestinians remain imprisoned in Israel under harsh conditions, including reports of torture, starvation, and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights organizations.
More than 52,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
