December 24, 2024
By Nasser Kandil
• Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself entangled in a challenge he cannot easily escape, for the confrontation he has embroiled himself in with Yemen operates under vastly different conditions than Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria. His excessive rhetoric offers little to secure the “victory” he claims to pursue.
• Netanyahu declares that he will destroy Yemen’s infrastructure, turning it into another Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria. Yet he knows that due to the great distance, his air force cannot deploy dozens of planes to bombard Yemeni cities and facilities effectively. His aircraft would require mid-air refueling to complete such missions, a capability not all his planes possess. Moreover, his fleet of refueling aircraft is limited, constraining him to conducting only limited strikes akin to those currently observed.
• Expanding operations to emulate the large-scale daily destruction seen in Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria would necessitate American and Gulf cooperation. However, Netanyahu’s calls for such a partnership have not been met with enthusiasm. Agreeing to this would expose Gulf cities, infrastructure, American bases, oil facilities, and transportation routes – from the Strait of Hormuz to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea – to Yemeni missiles and drones.
• Yemen, unlike Lebanon, lacks a significant internal political opposition to the resistance, and unlike Syria before its recent resurgence, it does not have a fatigued leadership eager to conclude the war hastily. Instead, Yemen resembles Gaza in its unified popular mobilisation. Millions of Yemenis fill the streets with unwavering chants for Palestine, their voices ringing with passion. Its armed forces are highly motivated, well-prepared for battle, and constantly unveiling new surprises on the battlefield, as demonstrated by their hypersonic missiles that bypassed Israeli defenses and struck Tel Aviv.
• Yemen has not yet fully unleashed its capabilities against the occupying entity’s vital infrastructure, but it can – and will. After the Israeli attacks on Yemeni power stations and fuel depots, oil, gas, and electricity facilities have become legitimate targets. Netanyahu’s hubris will soon be recognised as a liability, one the occupying entity must abandon.
The shortest path to neutralising this growing threat is to negotiate an agreement in Gaza that halts Yemen’s support. Any delay in pursuing this solution will only incur additional, futile costs.
