Yemen's Houthi rebels threaten Israel with 'painful strikes'

By Mohammed Sameai

SANAA, Yemen (AA) — Houthi rebels in Yemen issued a threat to Israel Sunday of "painful and decisive" blows in response to Tel Aviv's renewed attacks on the Gaza Strip.

"Our armed forces will resume targeting the Zionist occupation entity with painful and decisive blows" following its return to "its brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip," the group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement delivered at an event in the capital Sanaa.

"Today, we are engaged in a decisive battle with the Zionist and American forces, and we will continue it until the aggression on Gaza stops," Saree added.

He warned that an attack on Yemen by Israel would be "a major folly, and the response will be strong and painful from our armed forces and the Yemeni people."

The statement came after the UK Marine Trade Operations posted a warning on X of a "possible explosion" in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, in the Red Sea from the Yemeni side, urging ships to exercise caution.

In response to this, Israeli military spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said on the same platform: "The Iranians and their Houthi proxies are a menace to the entire free world."

At least 509 Palestinians have been killed and 1,316 injured since Friday in Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

More than 15,500 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in Israeli attacks since then.

The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.

* Writing by Rania Abu Shamala