JERUSALEM, Israel- Israel’s defense minister vowed on Thursday to inflict the 10 biblical plagues of Egypt on Yemen’s Huthi rebels in response to their escalated missile attacks on Israel. The threat follows a missile strike from Yemen that landed outside Israeli territory, heightening regional tensions.
Israel Katz, the defense minister, posted on X, “The Huthis are firing missiles at Israel again. A plague of darkness, a plague of the firstborn — we will complete all 10 plagues.” The statement references the Book of Exodus, where God inflicted 10 disasters on Egypt to secure the release of enslaved Israelites. The Israeli military reported intercepting two Huthi missiles on Wednesday, with a third striking outside Israel on Thursday. The Huthis, backed by Iran, claimed their ballistic missile targeted Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, according to their military spokesman Yahya Saree.
The Huthis have intensified attacks since Israeli airstrikes last week israeli-airstrike-on-sanaa">killed their prime minister, Ahmed al-Rahawi, and 11 other senior officials in Sanaa. “Airstrikes will not frighten us, nor will threats intimidate us,” said Mahdi al-Mashat, president of the Huthi’s governing council, in a video statement. “Our vengeance does not sleep, and dark days await Israel.” The group has launched repeated drone and missile strikes on Israel since the Gaza conflict began in October 2023, framing them as solidarity with Palestinians.
Israel’s response has included multiple airstrikes on Huthi-controlled areas, targeting ports like Hodeidah and Sanaa’s international airport. An Israeli security source said, “We destroyed Hodeidah port and concrete factories used for weapons manufacturing.” Huthi officials condemned the strikes as attacks on civilian infrastructure, with their health ministry reporting 10 deaths and 92 injuries from an August 24 attack on Sanaa.
The Huthi rebels control much of northwestern Yemen, having ousted the internationally recognized government from Sanaa in 2014, sparking a decade-long civil war. Their attacks on Red Sea shipping and Israel have drawn retaliatory strikes from the U.S. and UK, alongside Israel. The UN has expressed concern over the escalation, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noting the detention of 11 UN staff by Huthis in Sanaa following Israeli strikes.