Yedioth Ahronoth: Houthis Prepare to Launch a Large-Scale Attack Mimicking October 7

SadaNews Translation - The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday that the Israeli security establishment has observed a significant advancement in the capabilities of the Houthis in Yemen.

According to the newspaper, as translated by SadaNews, the Houthis are enhancing their capabilities in the self-manufacturing of advanced long-range drones and missiles, relying on Iranian expertise and with the assistance of local engineers, as well as utilizing tunnels for the production and storage of these drones and missiles.

It was noted that Israel is monitoring the Houthis' attempts to train militants to carry out another "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation, meaning a repeat attack similar to that of October 7, launching from one of the countries neighboring Israel.

The newspaper observed that despite Israeli attacks on the Houthis' maritime ports aimed at thwarting the transfer of arms shipments from Iran, they depend on self-production of heavy and precision weapons, as well as low-flying kamikaze drones that are difficult to detect easily.

It highlighted that these operations are supported by Iran through the establishment of factories for the manufacture and development of missiles, similar to what Iran did with Hezbollah in creating factories in Syria, which were destroyed during a special operation about a year ago, noting that the Houthis take advantage of the mountains and deserts to carve rocks or dig the land to create production lines for weapons.

The newspaper states: it appears that the Houthi threat is not limited to launching missiles and drones; we have learned (from Yedioth Ahronoth) that the Israeli army is closely monitoring the "Al-Aqsa Flood" plan, which is the new version of the Hamas attack on October 7, but this time launched from Yemen, indicating that the Houthis are preparing for a large-scale operation mimicking that attack, which will commence from the east, or from Jordan or Syria, or both together.

It added as translated by SadaNews: Israeli intelligence is monitoring the recruitment and training process being conducted by the local Houthi armed group, within a course they have named "Al-Aqsa Flood," which aims to train elements for an invasion of Israeli territory with the participation of thousands or tens of thousands of militants, to carry out a mass incursion until reaching Jerusalem.

These courses are held in Yemen, but it is expected that they will be executed from Jordan, if carried out, alongside attempts to conceal their traces.

In a related context, the prevailing assessment in the Israeli security establishment indicates that the two main targets in the Israeli attack on a cabinet meeting in Sanaa two weeks ago survived, namely the Chief of Staff of the Houthis and the Minister of Defense, while other ministers and the Prime Minister were killed.

Military intelligence estimates that the attack shocked the Houthi regime, primarily due to its intensity and its conclusion with the deaths of dozens of soldiers and officers, according to the newspaper.

It adds as translated by SadaNews: The Israeli army's intelligence branch has indeed achieved initial successes from two new devices established on the orders of the head of the military intelligence division, Shlomi Bender, indicating that significant intelligence capabilities and resources have been utilized by the military intelligence division so far to gather intelligence about key theaters such as Iran and Lebanon, with the aim of identifying the enemy's focal points and setting targets based on them, noting that these dozens of military intelligence researchers are focusing on identifying the focal points of the Houthis, according to her.

According to the newspaper, the recommendation of the intelligence directorate, especially after October 7, is that even during a Houthi ceasefire, if it results from a stop in fighting in Gaza, the offensive against the regime nearly 1800 kilometers away from Israel should not cease.

The Israeli army states: "We do not want to reach a situation where the Houthis someday possess thousands of precision missiles, which would pose an existential threat to Israel, as we estimated that the Iranians would reach 9000 missiles by 2027, and for this reason, we launched Operation Rising Lion, and thus, preparedness is to eliminate this growing threat, or at least strike it preemptively."