Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations issued on Monday (Dec 30) what he called a final warning to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants to halt their missile attacks on Israel, saying they risked the same “miserable fate” as Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad if they persisted.
The ambassador, Danny Danon, also warned Tehran that Israel has the ability to strike any target in the Middle East, including in Iran. He added that Israel would not tolerate attacks by Iranian proxies.
But hours later the Israeli military announced that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, prompting sirens to sound across the country, and a top Houthi leader said the group would not end its attacks on Israel.
“The pounding of the entity (Israel) continues and the support to Gaza continues,” Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the Houthis’ supreme revolutionary committee, said in a post on X after the Israeli military announced the missile interception.
The Houthis repeatedly have fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli fire in Gaza.
Danon, in addressing the UN Security Council, said that Israel would not tolerate further Houthi attacks.
“To the Houthis, perhaps you have not been paying attention to what has happened to the Middle East over the past year,” he said.
“Well, allow me to remind you what has happened to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to Assad, to all those who have attempted to destroy us. Let this be your final warning. This is not a threat. It is a promise. You will share the same miserable fate,” Danon said.
Before the meeting, Danon told reporters: “Israel will defend its people. If 2,000km is not enough to separate our children from the terror, let me assure you, it will not be enough to protect their terror from our strengths.”
