Barran Press
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a stern warning to the Houthi group in Yemen on Thursday, vowing "painful strikes" in the first public Israeli comment on the newly announced ceasefire agreement between the United States and the Houthis.
In a strongly worded message directed at the Houthis and their backer Iran, posted on the X platform," Minister Gallant asserted, "Israel is capable of defending itself independently against any threat or enemy, and the Israeli army is prepared for any mission."
He further added, "The Houthis will receive painful strikes from Israel if they continue to fire at us, and we will not allow any party to harm Israel."
Turning his attention to Iran, which Israel accuses of funding, arming, and directing the Houthi group, Gallant stated, "The era of proxy wars is over, and the axis of evil has collapsed. You bear direct responsibility. What we did to Hezbollah in Beirut, Assad in Damascus, and the Houthis in Yemen, we will do to you in Tehran as well."
The Israeli reaction comes after the Omani Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday a ceasefire agreement between the United States and the Iranian-backed Houthi group. According to the Omani statement, the agreement stipulates that "neither party will target the other in the future, including ships in the Red Sea, thereby ensuring freedom of navigation and the flow of international commercial shipping."
The Omani announcement followed remarks by US President Donald Trump hours earlier, who claimed that the Houthi group had informed him of their surrender and cessation of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas. Consequently, Trump stated that the US would halt its airstrikes against the group in Yemen.