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‘We underestimated the Houthis,’ admit Israeli officials

The costs of intercepting Houthi missiles and drones are proving to be a serious challenge for Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s security and defense establishments are belatedly coming to grips with the threat posed by the Houthis, nearly 14 months after Hamas’ brutal terror onslaught on southern Israel kicked off a multifront war, according to a Washington Post report.

After the October 7th attacks, Israeli strategists were primarily focused on combatting the threats on the border – Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – and were initially less concerned about the Yemen-based Houthis.

But as a shaky ceasefire with Hezbollah holds and Hamas’ capabilities to attack Israel have been curbed, the Houthis – who are the last remaining Iranian proxy in the region – have ramped up their attacks against Israel.

Earlier in December, two incidents saw ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis strike central Israel, destroying a Ramat Gan school and impacting in a south Tel Aviv park, wounding 16.

The Houthis “are more technologically advanced than perceived by many” and should not be “underrated,” an Israeli security official, speaking anonymously, told the Washington Post.

Thanks to financial and logistical support from Iran, including supplying missiles and explosive drones, the Houthis have been able to take “practical steps” towards their goal of destroying Israel, the official added.

“The Houthis want a war of attrition on Israel, to continue firing so that they can say, ‘We are the real resistance,'” Yoel Guzansky, a former member of Israel’s National Security Council and senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, told the Post.

Guzansky noted that the costs of interceptions, both from a fiscal and technological perspective, are proving to be a serious challenge for Israel.

“Because it’s so cheap for [the Houthis] to try to get a drone or a missile every few days or weeks into Israel, they can win this,” he said. “The question is now, how does Israel avoid falling into their trap?”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently vowed that Israel would defeat the Houthis, hinting that Jerusalem would target the terror group’s leadership.