Renewed Israeli air strikes pound Hezbollah, Houthi targets

Israel launched air strikes on Yemen’s Houthis and Lebanon’s Hezbollah over the weekend in a bid to further degrade the Iran-backed groups as tensions with Tehran continue to flare.

Israel is currently in the midst of a 60-day US-brokered ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, while both sides accuse the other of dozens of breaches.

On Monday morning, the Israeli military said it had conducted a series of intelligence-based strikes on a number of Hezbollah military targets in Lebanon.

“Prior to the strike, the threat posed by the targets to the Israeli home front and IDF troops was presented to the monitoring mechanism of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and the threats were not addressed,” a statement said.

“Among the targets struck were a rocket launcher site, a military site, and routes along the Syria-Lebanon border used to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah.”

The ceasefire is due to expire on January 26, but earlier this month, the head of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, said the group could well bypass the agreement.

“There is no timetable that specifies the resistance’s work, and our patience is linked to the appropriate timing to confront the enemy,” he said in a speech. “Our patience may run out before or after the 60 days, when we decide to do something that you will see directly.”

However, the new President in Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, has vowed to reduce the influence of the Iran-backed group as he takes the country into a new direction following years of Hezbollah political domination.

As Israel continues to fight Iran’s allies even further afield, on Friday, the Israeli air force also conducted strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthis, as missile attacks continue to come from Yemen.

“The Houthi terrorist regime has repeatedly attacked the State of Israel, its citizens, and civilian infrastructure in Israel, including with UAVs and surface-to-surface missiles,” a statement said.

Around 20 aircraft were used in the operation, with approximately 50 ammunitions, focusing on three main targets, the Israeli military said. Fighter jets refuelled during flights.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, sparked by the Iran-backed Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, the Houthis have launched approximately 320 UAVs toward Israel, over 100 of which were intercepted by the Israeli Air Force.

The group, which controls around one third of Yemen, has aligned with Hamas in a bid to force a ceasefire in Gaza. It has embarked upon a blockade of the Red Sea region which has hugely disrupted the global shipping route.

“The Houthi regime serves as a key proxy of the Iranian axis in the Middle East that is responsible for destabilizing the region and disrupting global shipping routes,” an Israeli military statement said following Friday’s airstrikes.

“Since the start of the war, the Houthis have launched approximately 40 surface-to-surface missiles from Yemen toward Israel,” the statement said.

Since September, Israel has significantly weakened Hezbollah, once Iran's strongest ally, targeting its military infrastructure and leadership. Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza has also been dealt a huge blow in the long-drawn war, which has left most of the coastal strip in ruins.

But as the Yemenis continue their offensive, Israel remains on alert from the militant group which has taken the country off guard in its allegiance with Hamas and the Palestinian cause, with almost daily aerial attacks on the Jewish state.