Israel’s attack on Yemen on Shabbos was Israel’s first attack against the Houthis since the terror group launched 220 drones at Israel since October 7th and directly followed its first deadly drone strike of Tel Aviv that killed a man and wounded eight others.

Israel has been preparing for months to retaliate against the Houthis in the case of any of their drones succeeding in penetrating Israel. The targets that Israel attacked in Yemen were selected months ago, during the early months of the war.

About a month and a half ago, the Israeli Air Force carried out a training exercise for missions far from Israel’s border, in cooperation with the Greek army, Ynet reported. The exercise was carried out despite the ongoing war with Hamas and Hezbollah to prepare for a scenario in which the IDF was forced to operate in “third-circle” countries – that do not share a border with Israel.

The operation began with the departure of a Nachshon aircraft and Unit 669 helicopters to the area, followed by dozens of F-15 heavy bombers, F-16s, stealth F-35 jets, and four Boeing 707 refueling planes. The aircraft flew at a low altitude over Yemen.

A security source told Ynet: “A capability developed over years, equivalent to an attack of Iran’s easternmost and most distant point, was actualized in a daytime operation, and perhaps not for the last time. We insisted to our U.S. partners in the region that the IDF would carry out the operation alone, despite prior coordination.”

The IDF released footage of the preparations for the attack:

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)