Precise intelligence and deception: Behind IDF strike on senior Houthi officials in Yemen

The Israeli Air Force strike today (Thursday) in Yemen, carried out under Operation "Drop of Luck," was launched following precise intelligence received in the past 24 hours by the IDF Intelligence Directorate.

According to the information, senior figures in the Houthi regime had arranged to gather in order to watch a speech by the Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. This was reported this evening on Kan News.

Following this understanding, the strike plans were quickly approved in a meeting involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.

A formation of fighter jets set out for Yemen, using a deception that allowed them to reach the Yemeni capital, located 2,000 km from Israel, undetected. They attacked with at least ten munitions the building where the senior Houthis had gathered.

Inside the building were more than 10 senior figures from the Houthi political and military leadership. The Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi was not the target. However, it is highly likely that the Houthi Chief of Staff, Mohammed al-Omari—whose life Israel had attempted to take two months ago—was present. Alongside him were likely the Houthi defense minister and interior minister.

The IDF continues to conduct BDA (Battle Damage Assessment) to verify that all who attended the Houthi gathering in Sana’a were hit or eliminated.

According to an Israeli source, the target of the strike was the top military leadership of the Houthis, including the Houthi Chief of Staff, who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in June.

A military source told Kan News that the strikes occurred in several locations against senior Houthis from both the political and military ranks who had gathered to watch Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s speech in Sana’a. The Saudi channel Al-Hadath reported, citing its sources, that the strikes targeted houses where senior Houthis were hiding in the capital.

After the strike, Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened:

"As we warned the Houthis in Yemen—after the ‘blow of darkness’ comes the ‘blow of the firstborn.’ Whoever raises a hand against Israel—his hand will be cut off."

According to the IDF statement, the Air Force struck a military target of the Houthi terror regime in Sana’a:

"The Houthi terror regime, from the beginning of the Iron Swords War, has acted with aggression, under Iranian guidance and funding, to harm Israel and its allies, destabilize regional order, and disrupt global freedom of navigation. The IDF is operating forcefully against the Houthi terror regime, while simultaneously intensifying the blows against Hamas in Gaza, and will continue to act to remove any threat to Israeli citizens."

On the other hand, Houthi-affiliated media claimed that all the targets were "civilian sites" and that Israel’s statements about military targets were nothing more than "a desperate attempt to cover up its failure."

Senior Houthi official Nasser al-Din Amer added: "There is no truth to reports of strikes on senior officials in Sana’a. Everything happening is the targeting of civilian sites and the Yemeni people as a whole, because they support Gaza."

Earlier this week as well, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes in Sana’a. In Operation "Oasis of Justice," 14 fighter jets dropped 35 munitions on targets including power stations, a fuel storage site, and the Presidential Palace inside a military compound—allegedly the command center for Houthi military operations.

Written by KAN 11 News correspondents Itay Blumenthal, Roi Sharon and Roi Kais.