Israel hints at retaliation against Iraq, Yemen, Iran

Israel's defense minister hinted that the country had launched retaliatory strikes in Iraq, Yemen and Iran, as the Gaza conflict escalated.

"We are in a multi-front war. We are being attacked from seven areas: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, Iraq, Yemen and Iran. We have responded and acted in six of these areas," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the Israeli Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today.

The statement showed that the Israeli military had responded to additional targets in three countries: Iraq, Yemen and Iran. "And let me be clear, anyone who takes action against us is a potential target," Gallant said.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi forces have recently stepped up attacks on Israeli-linked ships passing through the Red Sea in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians as Israel launches a campaign against the Gaza Strip. An Iranian-backed militia in Iraq last week claimed to have launched a drone attack on the southern Israeli port city of Eilat. Meanwhile, Iran is Israel’s regional rival, backing Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Officials from Iran, Iraq and Yemen have not commented on the information.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Berlin, Germany on September 28. Photo: Reuters

After the Gaza war broke out on October 7, armed groups in Lebanon and Syria launched attacks on Israel in support of Hamas. The Israeli military announced retaliatory strikes on targets in the two countries and launched several raids in the West Bank.

Hamas and its Palestinian Islamic Jihad allies have rejected a proposal to relinquish control of Gaza in exchange for a lasting ceasefire, Egyptian sources said. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on December 25 that Israel would only end its campaign in Gaza after it had defeated Hamas, demilitarized it and “deradicalized” the strip.

Location of Yemen and the Red Sea. Graphic: AFP

Nhu Tam (According to Reuters, Times of Israel )

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