Houthi Missiles, Trump and The Israeli depth

The Houthis are back firing at the heart of the Israeli depth. The military escalation is increasing despite US President Donald Trump’s warning that the Yemeni group, also called Ansar Allah, are set to be destroyed. But there is no proof of that as yet!

Ever since Israel restarted its military campaign on Gaza on 19 March, exactly two months after it ceased its military operations on the enclave, the Houthis reinitiated its trajectories, drones and hypersonic missiles on Israel. It adopted an eye-for-eye point of view — that is as long as Israel stops humanitarian aid to Gaza, Houthi missiles would continue on the Zionist state. 

The latest Houthi ballistic missiles were fired Wednesday during the day, a first-time shocker for these trajectories are delivered in the middle of the night. It was reported by the Hebrew media that millions hurried to underground shelters where sirens went off in 250 cities, towns, and settlements to the chagrin of many Israelis whose lives were turned upside down in the war on Gaza.

Wednesday will be remembered as a hard day for many as the ballistic missiles, which according to the Israeli army were intercepted and shot down from the air by counter trajectories. Such a series of Israeli military actions sent an intense amount of debris hurling down across a wide area of central and southern Israel including in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Analysts are saying it’s back to the old days of attempting to readdress the strategic equilibrium of Houthis and Hezbollah missiles targeting the Israeli depth. While Hezbollah is on the border with Lebanon, the Houthi missiles, and their success in reaching their targets, were fired all the way from Yemen, 2000 kilometers away into Israel.

This time, and like before during the course of 2024 where hundreds of trajectories were fired on the Zionist entity, the hypersonic missile was meant for the Ben-Gurion Airport, a busy hub for international travelers. Because of the timing of the trajectories it was reported that a significant number of the incoming planes had to be diverted and re-routed to Larnaca in Cyprus as a stopover and wait for the calm to set in.

Again this is a first-time development because the disruption usually lasted for no more than 30 minutes whilst this time around it paralyzed the airport and its aviation systems and meant to send a Houthi signal to the Israelis and their American allies especially, that this would be the status quo from now on unless the onslaught on Gaza is stopped and humanitarian aid allowed in the enclave.

Today, the incoming missiles on the different parts of Israel have been almost daily, at least for the last one week. This is seen as a signal that a new and forceful strategic approach is being adopted by the Houthis who are daring the Americans despite their daily military strikes on Yemen that Israel would continue to be a legitimate target.

The American navy through its USS Harry Truman destroyer in the Red Sea is striking Yemen with such force and vehemence whilst assuring the Israelis that they will do the job and end the Houthi presence.

But this is not having the military effect the Americans would like it to have for Yemen is a big country with its harsh setting and difficult geographical terrain that makes such strikes seem like ‘bee stings” rather than painful blows. On Tuesday, the US struck different locations in Yemen 17 times and before that the strikes were carried out with the same level of intensity.

But the Houthis are not being brought to their knees, a proving fact that has cost the preceding Biden administration an estimated $2 billion to attempt to rein in the Houthis but with no apparent success despite the level of destruction inside the country for Yemenis, across-the-board, and not just the Houthis, have proven to be a formidable force over the years.

It’s still too early to see for how long Trump will follow in the footsteps made by former US president Joe Biden. This is bearing in mind that the new man in the White House doesn’t like to spend US money and therefore will likely lose steam as the days pass bye and especially because the Houthis started to target the US destroyer and any other ships going to Israel with the group determined to continue to upset the international trading system unless their is a reprieve on Gaza.

The above-analysis is written by Dr Marwan Asmar, chief editor of the crossfirearabia.com website.

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Al-Duwairi: Houthi Missiles on Tel Aviv Confirms Failure of US Airstrikes on Yemen

The missiles launched by the Houthis at Israel do not make a significant military difference, according to military expert Major-General Fayez al-Duwairi. However, he said they confirm the failure of the US airstrikes to destroy the group’s capabilities and reveal the contradictions in Israeli statements regarding the interception of these missiles.

In an analysis of the military situation on Al Jazeera, al-Duwairi asserts that the Israeli military’s statement about the interception of the missile launched, Monday, before it entered Israeli airspace contradicts its statement about interceptor debris falling west of Jerusalem and south of Tel Aviv.

The fact that these debris fell on these areas, in al-Duwairi’s opinion, means that the missile bypassed Israeli air defenses, whilst confirming the Houthis’ possession of sonic missile technology. He added that this is something not many countries possess.

The fact that air raid sirens sounded only in Jerusalem and greater Tel Aviv, but not in the rest of Israel, confirms that the missile was not detected until it reached these specific areas, al-Duwairi said.

Confusion in Israeli Society


Whilst the Houthi missiles will not bring about a military change, according to the strategic expert, they put Israeli society on almost daily alert, disrupting daily life, and proving that the intensive US air campaign has not prevented the Houthis from launching attacks.

The Houthis’ launch of an eighth missile in just a few days demonstrates the failure of intensive US strikes to stop these attacks. The failure of Israeli defenses to detect the missiles before they entered Israeli airspace is a qualitative advantage for this Yemeni group.

As for the missiles that the Palestinian resistance has begun launching in the past few days, they carry more political than military messages, according to al-Duwairi, because it is impossible to compare the resistance’s capabilities today with those of the beginning of the war nearly 18 months ago.

However, the resistance’s ability to bombard greater Tel Aviv, as it did two days ago, confirms that it has a stockpile of missiles capable of causing disruption within Israel.

Yesterday evening, the Israeli Home Front Command announced that air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and its suburbs, as well as in more than 200 towns and cities in central Israel, as a result of a missile launched from Yemen.

The Israeli military said it intercepted the missile with its Arrow missile system before it entered airspace. However, sources confirmed to Al Jazeera that explosions were heard in areas of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the coastal region south of Tel Aviv following the launch of a missile from Yemen.

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US-Hamas Talks: Netanyahu’s Double-Wound

The current talks between US officials and Hamas leaders in Qatar is certainly a deep wound for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had long promised that he would finish off the Islamic organization in Gaza for good.

Indeed, it’s a double-wound for Netanyahu and his extremist government who had been under an illusion, perhaps a strong word to use, that US President Donald Trump would long share the Israeli extremist objectives of taking over Gaza, getting rid of its people en masse, and end Hamas rule in the 364-kilometer enclave.

Trump, especially over the past few weeks, had certainly given the Israelis that impression, especially when he blurted out at a devastating press conference with Netanyahu in the White House in early February 2025, that what he wants is to create a Middle East Riviera in Gaza that would include ‘voluntarily’ displacement of the 2.2 million Palestinians living there and swiftly end Hamas-rule. The president added what he wants to do is for the United States to take over Gaza and make it a top property front-beach development.

The whys, ifs, and hows didn’t matter whilst the details were left to be ironed out for later, while the focus zoomed on what Trump was saying which literally seemed to be straight off the top of his head as unrehearsed “blabber” non – certainly not members of the new administration – knew about as the new man in the White House dictated his shallow views and hearsay. 

To Netanyahu it was music to his ears and he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He just stood, smiled, glared and looked into the cameras pleased with his friend. To say the least however, he was gob-smacked and taken off-guard.

Trump’s bombshell announcement created an almost mass hysteria among the Palestinians, Arab world and internationally with people aghast, not knowing what to say, what to do and how to respond. Trump had then just announced the trampling on decades of international law – behest through the United Nations resolutions condemning Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza and its heinous and vile military rule.

Enters Hamas in US thinking

However, Netanyahu’s smirk was soon wiped off when it became clear that Trump was offering him Dutch-courage support while directly talking to Hamas officials at the same time. The Israelis become livid, especially when they got to know about the on-going meetings through third parties and leaked sources.

Today, Netanyahu is in a state of a quandary. For the first time he is finding that the political strings and threads are no longer in his court anymore as was the case with the former administration and despite the fact Trump just unfroze the MK-84 2000-pound bombs to Israel which Joe Biden slammed on Israel in May 2024 and adding that the security of Israel remains his top priority.

But today Netanyahu has become deeply-troubled with what is being regarded as double-talk and double-dealing! The bombs supply were to be a palliative to what is being “cooked” behind closed doors.

In Trump, and through his team led by Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler, Netanyahu is finding out that the new republican president in the White House is not an easy man and despite the strong Israeli lobby in Washington he doesn’t necessarily mean what he says and he is always looking out for America as the No. 1 interest. It is high politics trickery designed to get things done.

For the first time in this 16-month war on Gaza which Israeli started after 7 October, 2023, Netanyahu is finding himself in a corner, no longer able to pay just lip-service to the multitude of talks held in Doha and Cairo over the months of 2024 and which led to nowhere but increased the destruction of Gaza and the killing of its people.

Although Trump maybe a very good friend to Israel – a claim registered in his earlier administration when he moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem, a first-ever move by a US president and openly-backed the continued occupation of the Golan Heights, the businessman-politician is not interested in wars and has moved immediately to stop the three-year-old Ukraine war with Russia and now is dilly-dallying with Gaza.

The current talks in Doha are aimed to extend the ceasefire to be executed in three stages reached on 19 January, just one day before Trump officially entered the White House.  While stage I has just ended, the Netanyahu government is foot-dragging, not wanting to move onto the second and third stage mainly because of ideological, domestic political reasons and his eminent threat of going to prison on corruption charges.

Netanyahu fears continuing the ceasefire deal would mean the end of his government that is controlled by extremists who want the war on Gaza to continue and have stated time and again that they would bring the government down if Netanyahu makes a deal that is less than re-occupying Gaza and stamping out Hamas which continues to be a fanciful dream.

Present talks

But the present US talks in Gaza with the Islamist organization that ruled the enclave since 2007, and under a tight Israeli siege that continues today, is creating a flurry of muted tense relations between Tel Aviv and Washington occasionally coming out in-the-open as was the case through a leaked phone call between Boehler, a new man in charge of the hostages file in the US administration and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close Netanyahu ally.

His protest was made recently by refusing to go with his Israeli team to join the latest bout of negotiations in Doha to kick-start the second stage of the ceasefire and release more hostages at their current number of 60  including one US-Israeli soldier and four American bodies that have been killed by Israeli bombardment and kept during Israel’s war on the enclave in the last months.

At the present time four meetings were held between American and Hamas officials with the last headed by chief of the movement Khalil al-Hayya. To say the least, Israel is irritated, angry, and dumbfounded and what is happening. Netanyahu is simply flabbergasted at Trump which he always regarded as a deep personal friend of him and Israel. He  and Dermer had impressed on the US administration not to take Hamas directly but it is clear the latter has not and is not heeding to the suggestion and going their own separate way.

Through different media sources and to the annoyance of the Israelis Boehler has stressed that talks so far has been “very helpful” and indicated that a resolution of the freeing of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would be finalized in the next few weeks.

 The world is watching to see how this intricate situation will unfold. The Trump administration is trying to play down their meetings with the Hamas leaders, but this is not working, especially as  Boehler keeps talking to the media about how constructive the talks are going and the fact that these Hamas leaders are “pretty nice guys,” and these “guys are just like us,” as he recently told CNN.

The next few weeks will show more. When he came to office, Trump said that if Hamas doesn’t surrender, he would turn Gaza into hell. Judging from what is happening on the ground today such a comment is merely rhetorical.  

The above-analysis is written by Dr Marwan Asmar, chief editor of the crossfirearabia.com website.

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Israel is Exporting its “Crises” to Syria – Experts

Syrian political analysts are warning that Israel is seeking to export its internal crises to Syria, following its military failure in the Al-Aqsa Flood battle in Gaza. They add Tel Aviv wants to fuel regional tensions to divert attention from its worsening internal crisis.

Weakening Syria to unite the Israelis

Member of the Syrian National Dialogue Conference Abdul Nasser Hawshan believes the recent Israeli escalation “aims to prevent the establishment of a strong Syrian state and destabilize the region,” adding the Israeli occupation government is trying to unite the Israelis behind it to escape the increasing internal and international pressures it is facing.

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Hawshan told Quds Press, the recent National Dialogue Conference held in in country witnessed a national consensus on the unity and independence of Syria, and the rejected partition projects as espoused by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). He described such a project as a “separatist” one that “serves the Israeli agenda.”

He also pointed out that the Israeli incursions into southern Syria came “in response to this popular rejection of foreign plans.”

Druze position and rejection of Israeli intervention

Regarding the Druze community’s position in these developments, Hawshan explained that “some Druze leaders have adopted a discourse in line with the Israeli proposal,” but he stressed they “do not represent the Druze sect in general, which rejects any foreign intervention in Syrian affairs.”

He also denied the possibility of establishing the so-called Daoud Crossing, which links Israel to the areas under the control of the SDF, stressing “this project will not succeed under any circumstances.”

Irksome Turkey-Israel ties over the SDF

Political analyst Adel Hanif Daoud believes Israel is trying to exploit regional tensions to strengthen its position as an effective force, despite its escalating political and military crisis.

But Daoud warned that “any Israeli attempt to link the Druze and the SDF through the Tanf crossing could lead to an inevitable military confrontation with Turkey.” He noted Ankara considers the “Syrian Democratic Forces” a direct threat to its territorial integrity, and may resort to large-scale military intervention even if that leads to an international conflict.

He added the Druze leadership is divided between those who support Israel and those who are loyal to Damascus, but he expected that Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt would intervene to pressure the Druze community to reject the Israeli project.

As for the Turkish position, Daoud indicated that Ankara, as a member of NATO, has many political tools that it can use before resorting to the military option.

Military escalation in southern Syria

These warnings come in light of the escalation of Israeli military violations in southern Syria, as the occupation forces have intensified their airstrikes on sites in the Damascus countryside and Quneitra in recent weeks, targeting military and civilian infrastructure. Unprecedented Israeli military movements were also monitored along the occupied Golan Heights, amid reports of limited ground incursions.

In this context, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his rhetoric, stressing that his army would not allow the Syrian army or its allied forces to enter southern Syria, stressing Tel Aviv would not back down from its control of Mount Hermon, considering it a “strategic part of Israel’s national security.”

Damascus rejects Israeli aggression

For his part, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa stressed his categorical rejection of these attacks, considering them a threat to regional security and a continuation of the policies of aggression against Syria’s sovereignty.

In light of this escalation, Syria continues to defend its sovereignty and rights, while calls are increasing for the international community to act to stop Israeli violations, amid growing complications that threaten the stability of the entire region.

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Yair Netanyahu Files Lawsuit Over ‘Beating His Father’

Yair Netanyahu is seeking legal action in response to accusations made by Knesset member Naama Lazmi that he beat his father, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Yair Netanyahu, the son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Knesset member Naama Lazimi, following her statement that he was deported to the United States after allegedly beating his father.

According to Channel 14, Yair is seeking 300,000 shekels (approximately $84,000) in damages. 

He filed the lawsuit in response to Lazimi’s comment during a session of the Knesset Finance Committee on Sunday. Lazimi said that Yair was sent abroad after an incident in which he allegedly beat Netanyahu.

The lawsuit describes Lazimi’s statements as “an absolute lie,” accusing her of attempting to damage Yair’s reputation with politically motivated remarks. 

Yair’s lawyer, who remains unnamed, pointed out that parliamentary immunity does not protect Knesset members from defamation, particularly when the statements made are unrelated to their official duties.

During the session, Lazimi also questioned the costs of Sara Netanyahu’s presence abroad, asking who was funding her trips and the associated expenses. 

Additionally, Lazimi raised concerns about the state’s spending on Yair Netanyahu’s security, which was reported last year to amount to 2.5 million shekels (about $700,000) annually. 

She questioned whether this funding was still being drawn from the state budget and linked it to claims that Yair had to leave Tel Aviv after an alleged confrontation with his father according to The Palestine Chronicle.

This lawsuit comes amid rising political tensions within Israel, as Netanyahu and his government face growing opposition criticism over both domestic and foreign issues. 

Netanyahu has led the current government since December 2022, and on November 21, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

From October 7, 2023, to January 19, 2025, Israel committed genocide in Gaza, leaving over 160,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—dead or injured, and more than 14,000 still missing.

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