'Iran's war against peace': Israel defends its assault on Houthis, says can't wait for world to react

Israel has given a “final warning” to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants to halt their missile attacks or face “miserable fate” similar to Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad if they continue.

Setting out its case for a full scale assault on Houthis, Israel at the United Nations Security Council, on Monday, claimed the Iranian-backed group now represents a well-armed terrorist army that threatens not just the regional economy but the entire global order.

Houthis are part of ‘Iran’s war against peace’

Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon had called for the UN security council meeting to discuss the recent escalation in Houthi attacks on Israel in which he said that the Houthis “were nothing more than part of Iran’s war against peace."

Danon further said that Houthis had an annual budget of $1.2 billion and came dangerously close to strangling the Suez canal by its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen.

Israel’s final warning to Houthis

In his address at the UNSC, Danon also said that Israel would not tolerate further Houthi attacks.

“To the Houthis, perhaps you have not been paying attention to what has happened to the Middle East over the past year,” he said.

“Well, allow me to remind you what has happened to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to Assad, to all those who have attempted to destroy us. Let this be your final warning. This is not a threat. It is a promise. You will share the same miserable fate,” Danon added.

‘Israel won’t wait for world to react’

“Let me make one thing absolutely clear; we have had enough. Israel will not stand by and wait for the world to react. We will defend our citizens," Danon said, adding that the Houthis were no longer a regional threat but a threat to the world order.

Danon also warned Tehran that Israel has the ability to strike any target in West Asia, including in Iran and even said that Israel would not tolerate attacks by Iranian proxies.

Houthis launched 300 attacks on Israel in 2024

Danon went on to say that “millions of Israelis are waking up every night to the sound of sirens across the country”, accusing the Houthis of launching 300 attacks on Israel this year.

Houthis says, ‘won’t stop pounding’ Israel

However, within hours the Israeli military announced that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, prompting sirens to sound across the country.

Head of the Houthis’ supreme revolutionary committee Mohamed Ali al-Houthi said the group would not end its attacks on Israel.

“The pounding of the entity (Israel) continues and the support to Gaza continues,” Mohamed Ali said in a post on X moments after the Israeli military announced the missile interception.

Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, and the group’s spokesperson, Yahya Qasim Sare’e, have also made it clear that as long as the war in Gaza continues, the Houthis will continue to attack shipping and Israel.

Some Houthi activists claimed on social media that recent attacks on Jaffa are a prelude to an attack on Israeli nuclear sites.

Designate Houthis as foreign terrorist organisation

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar, meanwhile, called for the Houthis to be designated as a foreign terrorist organisation.

Last week, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Houthis that his country was “just getting started” following Israeli strikes on multiple Houthi-linked targets in Yemen, including Sanaa airport, ports on the country’s west coast and two power plants.

The World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was about to board a plane at the airport when it came under attack by Israel.

Referring to the narrow escape of Tedros and his delegation, Danon said: “We have no control over who is where. We have no intention to bomb to harm NGO or the UN, on the contrary, but if they are in areas where Houthis are, they should be careful because we will not sit idly by.”

With inputs from agencies.