The Hebrew newspaper “Globes”: “Israel” Doesn’t Understand Yemen and Recreates the Saudi Failure
The Hebrew newspaper “Globes” published a report by Zionist writer Shmuel Elmas, in which he warned that “Israeli airstrikes on Yemen, most recently the large-scale attack on the ports of Hodeidah and Salif, do not weaken the Ansar Allah movement. On the contrary, they strengthen their popular and political presence and increase their internal cohesion.”
The writer stated that “the attack, in which 15 Israeli fighter jets participated and 35 missiles were dropped after traveling more than 2,000 kilometers, was described as a technical and military achievement, but at its core, it lacks strategic insight.” Decision-makers in Tel Aviv believe that the Houthis will be affected by attacks on infrastructure and supply sources. However, the Yemeni reality, as Elmas explains, belies this assumption.
The report criticizes what it describes as “Israeli intelligence ignorance,” represented by the belief that “the Houthis care about the economic well-being of the areas they control.” It asserts that this assumption is similar to the mistake made by successive Israeli governments when they believed that Qatari grants would bring peace to Gaza. Just as the economic suffering did not force Hamas to retreat, neither the destruction nor the blockade appears to have forced the Houthis to retreat.
The report adds that “Israel is repeating the same mistake made by Saudi Arabia and the UAE during previous years of war, when they believed that intensive bombing would lead to the fall of the Houthis.”
The report concludes that “Israel’s options for confronting the Yemeni threat are limited: either a ceasefire in Gaza, which would contribute to calming the multiple fronts, including Yemen; or continuing to strike the Houthis, which will only strengthen Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s political and social position in a fragmented and charged Yemeni environment, where the value of those who defy the raids increases rather than collapse under them.”