Netanyahu offered to join strikes against Houthis, stop advance, US source claim - report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed that Israel may join a broader campaign against the Iranian-backed Houthi terror group in Yemen, Lebanese newspaper Al Akbar claimed on Friday, citing US sources. 

According to the report, Israel would be joining a larger regional effort to combat the threat to shipping routes in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

US diplomatic sources claimed that Netanyahu offered Israeli aid to countries in the Arabian Peninsula, Al Akbar wrote, signaling that Israel may be willing to join a broader war. 

This comes as the Houthis advance in western Yemen, reaching the strategic island of Perim in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, potentially tightening their grip on one of the world's vital shipping routes.

Israel continues to monitor Houthi movement

Israel is closely monitoring Houthi movements following the group’s capture of the Yemeni port city of Mocha, near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, Maariv reported on Thursday.

Israeli officials are concerned that the Houthis could consolidate their control over the port, enabling them to increase pressure on oil tankers and commercial vessels in the area. Such a development could disrupt shipping into the Red Sea and further threaten regional trade and energy routes.

A military source said Israel was closely monitoring the fighting in Yemen and shifts in the balance of power along the coast.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Israel Navy commander V. Adm. Eyal Harel issued direct warnings to the Houthis and Iran this week.

“We removed and pushed back existential threats that had been built up against us for years,” Zamir said. “We will not allow existential threats to emerge from radical enemies, and we will not allow terrorist organizations to establish themselves along our borders.”

Addressing Israel Navy operations, Zamir added, “In Bab al-Mandab, in the heart of Beirut, in Lebanon’s ports and off the coast of Gaza, we proved that the IDF’s long arm is powerful, determined and reaches everywhere to strike those who seek to harm us.”

“In the new maritime arena, there is no longer such a thing as a distant front,” Harel said, stressing that distance would not provide immunity to anyone seeking to harm Israel.

Meanwhile, the IDF completed a large-scale divisional exercise led by the 80th Division in Eilat and the surrounding area on Thursday, including the waters off the city.

The exercise simulated a mass infiltration into Eilat by sea, air and land involving Houthi fighters and pro-Iranian militias. It tested the military’s ability to respond to the seizure of hotels, schools, shopping centers and tourist sites, as well as widespread hostage-taking incidents.