US Central Command (CENTCOM) Deputy Commander Vice Adm. Brad Cooper and Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram met in Israel on Tuesday to discuss future moves against the Houthi proxy group in Yemen.
According to a joint statement, they visited several air force bases, including Nevatim in the South – where a joint drill of Israeli F-35s and American F-15s took place in 2023 – and discussed countering terrorist threats in the region.
As recently as Sunday, the Houthis had fired a ballistic missile at Israel and have, in general, increased the frequency of such attacks for several weeks, without any significant breaks.
Many of these attacks have forced millions of Israelis in the Tel Aviv and central Israel regions to run into bomb shelters and safe rooms in the middle of the night. The last time a Houthi missile killed someone was in July.
And yet, a school in the Tel Aviv area suffered 11 million shekels in damages, while other sites suffered similar hits by pieces of falling shrapnel after air defense systems shot down the missiles.
The Houthi attacks have continued, even after Israel launched four separate large-scale strikes on areas under Houthi control in Yemen, including on all of their main maritime ports multiple times and their international airport on December 25.
A December 31 CENTCOM strike on a key Houthi installation followed, but it also did not stop the Houthis, who to date have shot over 200 ballistic missiles, along with nearly 200 drones.
Israeli leaders have said they will target the Houthi’s leaders, but perhaps Israel and the US must work together to improve intelligence on targets in such a way that will pertinently end the attacks.
The deputy chiefs also attended a strategic briefing led by Israel Air Force Chief of Staff Brig.-Gen. Omer Tishler, the Nevatim base commander, and other senior officers. They then visited Division 80 and the Northern Command, where they were briefed on operational activities and “enemy tactics.”
The military stated, “The IDF will continue to strengthen its ties with the US military, demonstrating a commitment to enhancing regional stability and coordination between the armies.”
Meanwhile, over Monday night and Tuesday, the IDF announced the deaths of three personnel – two officers and one soldier, all of whom were killed in northern Gaza.
St.-Sgt. Ido Samiach, 20, from Ganei Tikva, served in the Reconnaissance Battalion of the Nahal Brigade. During an operation in Beit Hanun in northern Gaza, terrorists opened fire, and Samiach was killed. The IDF has launched an investigation into the incident. His funeral is set to take place on Wednesday at the Savyon Cemetery.
Maj. Dvir Zion Revah and Capt. Eitan Israel Shiknazi both served in the 932nd Battalion in the Nahal Brigade. Revah, 28, from Jerusalem, and Shiknazi, 24, from Eli, were killed on Monday when an anti-tank missile was fired at a building where the IDF was operating.
Kfir operations in northern Gaza
The military said that during its combat operation in northern Gaza, which has gone on intensively for about three months, the Kfir Brigade, under the command of Division 162, destroyed tunnels, located weapons, and killed Hamas fighters, including some who partook in the October 7 massacre.
The IDF announced on Tuesday that Kfir had concluded its operations in the area.
Kfir soldiers killed the terrorists both in close-quarter combat encounters and in strikes conducted in coordination with the IAF. They mainly operated in Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanun, destroying Hamas’s Beit Lahiya Battalion.
Sources in the brigade said, “We operated for 64 days in northern Gaza; sixty-four days of operating without breaks or rotations. We worked to destroy Hamas above and below ground. We eliminated over 300 terrorists, including senior operatives who caused a lot of trouble.
“We paid a very heavy price in the fighting. In six incidents, we lost 12 soldiers and commanders. We had dozens of wounded, some of whom have already returned to fight.”
In late December, Kfir destroyed three tunnel routes in Beit Lahiya that, combined, ran a length of 7.5 kilometers. Within these tunnels, troops found military equipment that Hamas terrorists captured on October 7, along with maps of Gaza border communities.
In November alone, the brigade neutralized dozens of terrorists and dismantled over a hundred Hamas structures.
Despite these successes, IDF sources could not deflect questions about Hamas reconstituting its forces or account for the recent increase in rocket fire from Gaza into Israel.
On Monday, a rocket struck Sderot, marking an end to an extended period in which there were either no rockets or where rockets failed to strike anything substantial that wasn’t an open field.
Military sources had no clear path to solve these two problems and noted that the government handles broader policy issues.