The IDF's Intelligence Directorate has recruited dozens of Yemeni Israeli Jews fluent in the Yemeni Arabic dialect to support its operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, KAN News reported on Wednesday.
The recruits include both recent immigrants from Yemen and individuals raised in Arabic-speaking households with Yemeni roots. According to the report, they will assist the IDF in intelligence gathering and provide critical insights into Yemen's language and culture.
"The IDF has enlisted dozens of Yemeni Jews to enhance its understanding of the language and culture in Yemen," KAN News stated, emphasizing their role in bolstering military intelligence efforts. This development comes as part of a broader US-Israeli strategy to counter Houthi missile capabilities, which have increasingly targeted Israel.
The US has informed Israel that, by the end of US President Joe Biden’s term in office, America intends to escalate its attacks on Yemen’s Houthis, KAN 11 reported on Friday evening.
As part of the expanded US strikes on Yemen, and amid increased Houthi attacks on Israel, the Americans will hit more missile-related targets, KAN added. An informed source further told the Israeli public broadcaster that President Biden gave the US "permissive strike authorizations" for these operations.
Concurrently however, KAN reported that the Biden administration has asked Israel to ensure that the targets it strikes in Yemen are military, rather than civilian.
CENTCOM activity
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) published footage of US Navy guided-missile destroyers from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group firing Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles at Houthi weapon production and storage facilities in Yemen early Saturday morning.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday said it carried out precision strikes on the Houthis’ underground advanced conventional weapons storage facilities in Yemen. The airstrikes took place less than 24 hours after CENTCOM’s deputy commander met with the IDF’s deputy chief of staff, it said.
The Houthis had used the facilities to conduct attacks against US Navy vessels and merchant ships in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, CENTCOM said.