Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz convened a special discussion with senior security officials on Monday to address the growing threat posed by the Houthi movement in Yemen, according to government remarks.
The meeting comes amid heightened concern in Jerusalem over the group’s expanding missile and weapon capabilities and its coordination with Iran.
Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that the Houthis are more than a regional nuisance. “We didn’t just change the Middle East, we changed ourselves. There is no more restraint. There is initiative and proactivity all the time,” he said on Sunday, underscoring a shift toward a more proactive Israeli posture.
At a cabinet session, Netanyahu framed the Houthi challenge as one of the country’s critical security priorities. “The Houthis look like some minor annoyance. From time to time they fire a ballistic missile at us; we intercept those missiles. It looks like a small thing. It is not a small thing,” he said. He described the movement as “fanatical in the most extreme sense you can imagine,” arguing it has the capability to produce ballistic missiles and other weapons and is committed to what he called “the program to annihilate Israel.”
Netanyahu stressed the threat was tangible, not theoretical, and warned it could develop further over time. “It is, of course, coordinated with Iran, and we will do whatever is necessary to remove this threat as well,” he said. “We will, to say the least, deny it the ability to do so.”
Defense Minister Katz joined the summit with heads of the security establishment — including military and intelligence chiefs — to assess options and coordinate responses. Officials have not disclosed operational decisions from the meeting, but the tone of recent statements points to continued vigilance and the possibility of stepped-up measures to disrupt Houthi capabilities and supply lines.
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Analysts say the issue complicates Israel’s wider strategic picture: while the Houthis are based in Yemen, their growing reach and missile production raise concerns about a widening front coordinated by Iran. Israeli leaders have emphasized the need to protect civilian infrastructure and shipping routes in the Red Sea and to ensure that any escalation is met with decisive action to prevent further threats to national security.
For now, Netanyahu’s government appears set on a policy of persistent pressure: maintaining interceptions of incoming projectiles and preparing to act against any credible efforts by the Houthis, or their backers, to expand their strike capabilities.