Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday repeated a threat to unleash biblical plagues on Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on Israel, which have continued following the Israeli assassination of the prime minister of the Sanaa-based government.
“The Houthis are firing missiles at Israel again. A plague of darkness, a plague of the firstborn – we will complete all ten plagues,” Katz wrote on X, referring to plagues brought upon Egypt in the book of Exodus.
Katz has previously used the “plague of darkness” in apparent reference to Israel’s strikes on Yemeni power plants and other energy infrastructure. He also referenced the “plague of the firstborn,” which resulted in the deaths of all firstborn males in Egypt in Exodus, when announcing the Israeli strikes that targeted Yemeni civilian leadership and killed Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi.
Yemen’s Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, announced another missile attack on Israel on Thursday and repeated their vow that the operations in support of the Palestinians in Gaza will continue until there’s a ceasefire and an end to the blockade on the Palestinian territory.
“The suffering of our oppressed Palestinian people in Gaza makes it imperative for all peoples to take action and break all restrictions in fulfillment of their religious, moral, and humanitarian duty to end this unprecedented crime in our contemporary history. Everyone bears responsibility, and their duty will not be done until it is fulfilled,” said Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree. “Yemenis will continue to support Gaza until the aggression against it stops and the siege is lifted.”
Saree also said the missile targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion airport and claimed that it reached its target and that US and Israeli air defenses failed to intercept it. Much earlier in the day, the Israeli military said a missile fired from Yemen landed in an open area outside of Israeli territory, but it’s unclear if it was the same one announced by Saree. The IDF claimed later in the day that its forces intercepted two drones fired from Yemen.
The Houthis are known for their resilience and did not back down in the face of a very heavy US bombing campaign that the Trump administration conducted from March 15 to May 6, which killed more than 250 civilians. The US gave up on trying to get the Houthis to stop their attacks on Israel and their blockade of Israeli shipping and agreed to a ceasefire with the group.
