Israeli opposition leader calls for 'direct aim at Iran' to deter the Houthis
Benny Ganz, the leader of Israel's opposition party, called on the country to "aim directly at Iran" to end the threat from the Houthi missile launches. "The root of the problem lies in Tehran. If we want to end the attacks from the Houthis, we must aim directly at Iran," MP Benny Gantz, chairman of the opposition National Unity Party, told a meeting on December 23.
The Houthis, Iranian-backed forces in Yemen, have recently stepped up missile launches against targets in central Israel. Over the weekend, Houthi ballistic missiles penetrated Israel's multi-layered air defenses, hitting residential areas in Jaffa, injuring 16 people.
Another raid on the night of December 18 knocked down part of a school in the Ramat Efal area, near Ben Gurion International Airport.
"We have an opportunity to promote a strategic turnaround, to counter Iran and its allies. We must take advantage of this opportunity. Not taking the opportunity would be a historic strategic mistake," said Gantz, who served as defense minister and chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Gantz also criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for delaying the deal to return the hostages from the Gaza Strip. He said Israel should prioritize "replacing the Hamas regime" in the Gaza Strip, given that the organization has weakened significantly and lost most of its political leadership, thereby re-establishing stability and security on its western border.
"Israel has not come up with an alternative to Hamas. We are still not working with other countries to establish a Gaza Strip executive apparatus as I proposed a year ago. Defense officials have already drafted this plan, but they need guidance from a united political system, not divided by partisan ambitions and interests," he said.
Israel's security cabinet has recently repeatedly discussed whether the IDF should strike Iran head-on, although the main thrust of the meetings is to find a way to respond to missiles from Yemen, sources familiar with the matter told Keshet 12 television.
Israeli intelligence reports have said that Iranian leaders are increasingly concerned about the prospect of the IDF launching a campaign against the country, instead of limited air strikes. Tehran also suspects that last month's Israeli-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement was actually for the IDF to reorganize its forces, dedicating its strength to the Israeli-Iranian confrontation scenario.
Speaking to Keshet 13 television on December 22, David Barnea, the head of Mossad intelligence, also said that Israel needs to hit Iran head-on to end the threat from the Houthis, Hamas or similar forces that are being backed by Tehran in the region. "We have to target Iran. If they only attack the Houthis, there is no guarantee that they will stop attacking us," he said.
