Israel’s defence minister has promised to inflict the 10 biblical plagues of Egypt on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The threat was issued by Israel Katz on social media on Thursday amid reports that the Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up their missile attacks against Israel. The Yemeni rebel force has resumed attacks in retaliation for last week’s assassination of Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi and several senior officials.
“The Houthis are firing missiles at Israel again. A plague of darkness, a plague of the firstborn – we will complete all 10 plagues,” Katz wrote in Hebrew on X, as tensions continue to escalate between his country and the Yemeni group.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army said a missile fired from Yemen had struck outside Israeli territory. The previous day, the military had reported it intercepted two Houthi missiles.
The Yemeni group on Monday claimed responsibility for a missile attack in the Red Sea that hit the Israeli-owned tanker Scarlet Ray.
Katz’s threat refers to the 10 disasters that the Bible’s Book of Exodus says were inflicted on Egypt by the Hebrew God to convince the pharaoh to free the enslaved Israelites.
The Houthis have launched numerous drone and missile attacks against Israel, saying the launches are in support of the Palestinians, since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023.
The group, which controls vast areas of Yemen, also ran a campaign targeting international shipping in the Red Sea, a route vital for global trade. That saw the United States launch a concerted series of attacks on the Houthi-occupied parts of Yemen earlier this year.
In May, Oman brokered a ceasefire between the US and Houthis, leading Washington to halt its daily bombing campaign.
However, the group said the agreement does not cover operations against Israel, and has continued to launch attacks.
In turn, Israel has carried out several rounds of strikes in Yemen, targeting Houthi-held ports as well as the rebel-held capital, Sanaa.
A week ago, an Israeli air strike killed al-Rahawi, nine of his ministers, and two other Houthi representatives.
