The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have announced plans to target civilian aircraft belonging to Israeli airlines, including El Al, in what could mark a dangerous new phase in the Yemeni group’s ongoing assault on Israel.

The warning, issued through Lebanon’s Hezbollah-aligned Al-Akhbar newspaper, follows Israel’s airstrike on Sanaa International Airport earlier this week. The targeted strike reportedly destroyed the last operational Houthi aircraft, a move that Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said eliminatec the group’s remaining air capabilities.

But the Houthis aren’t backing down—in fact, they’re upping the ante.

In a direct threat to Israeli civilian air traffic, Houthi sources said their “upcoming operations will differ in quantity and substance,” vowing to add Israeli civilian planes to their list of military targets. If carried out, such a strike would cross a grave red line and could trigger a wider regional conflagration.

The rebels claim the aircraft destroyed by Israel had been used for humanitarian medical evacuations to Jordan—a claim dismissed by Israeli officials as propaganda meant to deflect attention from the Houthis’ ongoing campaign of ballistic missile and drone attacks aimed at Israeli civilians.

In recent weeks, the Houthis have launched near-daily missile attacks toward Israel, including one strike that landed inside the grounds of Ben Gurion International Airport earlier this month, prompting several foreign airlines to suspend service to Israel. With major carriers pulling out, most Israelis are now reliant on El Al and the domestic carriers Arkia and Israir—airlines that may soon find themselves in the crosshairs.

It remains unclear whether the Houthis possess the technical capacity to strike aircraft in flight. However, in an interview earlier this month with Newsweek, a Houthi spokesman boasted of “new weapons” allegedly capable of enforcing an “aerial blockade” over Israeli skies. While the threat’s credibility is still under assessment by Israeli intelligence, the tone and timing have set off alarms.

Israeli aviation security has been placed on high alert, and contingency plans are reportedly being reviewed at the highest levels of government.

With Iranian fingerprints all over Houthi weapons and strategy, the latest development raises serious questions about Tehran’s role in greenlighting an attack on civilian aviation—an act that is a blatant war crime and a direct provocation.

Defense analysts say any attempted strike on a commercial aircraft could trigger immediate and overwhelming Israeli retaliation—not just against the Houthis, but potentially against Iranian assets across the region.

“This is not Yemen’s war anymore,” said one senior Israeli security official. “This is Iran using its proxies to test Israel’s red lines. And there will be a response.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)