Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz warned of “Biblical” retribution against Yemen’s Houthi movement and said Israeli troops will stay on Syria’s Mount Hermon and in a new “security zone” near the Golan Heights.
In posts on X after Israeli airstrikes in Sanaa on Monday, Katz said Israel had “destroyed the Houthi presidential palace,” adding: “For every missile they launch toward Israel, the Houthis will pay with compound interest… Today we brought upon the Houthis a plague of darkness and gloom, and in the future—there will also be a plague of the firstborn.” The phrasing, lifted from the Book of Exodus, drew scrutiny for appearing to threaten civilians, including children, amid reports that strikes hit power infrastructure and residential areas, causing deaths and a city-wide blackout.
The Houthis, who control Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, claim their missile launches at Israel are in solidarity with Gaza. Katz’s language echoed other Biblical allusions used by Israeli officials since the Gaza war’s outset; in November 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deleted a post likening Gaza’s population to Amalek.
On Tuesday, Katz said the Israel Defense Forces “will remain on Mount Hermon … and in the security zone to protect the Golan and the Galilee settlements from threats from the Syrian side,” adding that Israel would “continue to protect the Druze in Syria.” Israeli media have reported efforts—encouraged by Washington—to craft a limited non-aggression understanding with Damascus before the end of September, with some outlets floating a potential trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Kan 11 reported a draft in which Israel would pledge not to strike Syria while offering safeguards for the Druze community in exchange for Syrian assurances. Syria’s SANA said last week that Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met an Israeli delegation in Paris alongside U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack to discuss de-escalation in Suweida and a return to the 1974 disengagement lines, a baseline Israeli officials have publicly rejected. Walla quoted officials as cautious on sealing any final arrangement by September. Katz’s remarks underline that territorial withdrawals are not currently on the table.