• He mentioned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already discussed the matter with U.S. President Joe Biden.
• The concern revolves around Houthi rebels targeting merchant ships with suspected Israeli ties.
• Hanegbi also discussed developments on the ground in Gazaa.

Israel is ready to take action against Houthi rebels in Yemen if the international community does not intervene to address their disruptions in the Red Sea.

According to Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. He mentioned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already discussed the matter with U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders. The concern revolves around Houthi rebels targeting merchant ships with suspected Israeli ties.

“Israel is giving the world some time to organize in order to prevent this but if there isn’t to be a global arrangement, because it is a global issue, we will act in order to remove this naval siege,” Hanegbi said.

The Houthi rebels in Yemen, backed by Iran, are a Shia political and military group engaged in a civil war against a coalition supported by Saudi Arabia since 2014.

U.S. warships intercepted unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Houthi-controlled areas, and discussions are ongoing about enhancing security measures, including the possibility of escorting ships through the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait to the Gulf of Aden.

No US deadline for Gaza ops: Israeli official:

Hanegbi also discussed developments on the ground in Gaza, saying that the US had not given Israel any deadline to complete military operations in the enclave.

“They understand that they are not in a position to tell the IDF how long it needs in order to achieve the goals,” he said.

“The good thing is that they share the same goals… It is correct to assume that we cannot measure this in weeks and I’m not certain that it could be measured in months.”

The White House is expressing deep concern about Israel’s upcoming operations in the coming weeks, as per a senior US administration official.

The US has reportedly had stern and direct conversations with Israel, cautioning against replicating the extensive tactics used previously and urging measures to limit civilian casualties.

According to Hanegbi, the Hamas leadership likely did not anticipate the extent of Israel’s response to the assault on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in approximately 1,200 casualties.

“I do not think that Yahya Sinwar (Hamas’ leader in Gaza) realized that the IDF will actually reach any point they want inside Gaza and kill over 7,000 terrorists,” Hanegbi said.

“This is the minimal estimate, it could be higher since we don’t know everything,” he added.

“We are getting very close to the control and command centers of Hamas in Jabalia and Shejaiya, the strongholds of persistent resistance in the northern Gaza Strip. And in the south we’re operating fiercely.”

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