The chest-thumping by Israel’s leaders following the attack Saturday on the Hodeidah Port in Yemen was understandable, though unnecessary.
Did Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have to crow about the success? Did National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have to tweet, “Awesome!”? Did Defense Minister Yoav Gallant really need to boast, “The fire in Yemen is seen across the Middle East?” Let the fire speak for itself; Gallant need not narrate it.
It is understandable why the country’s political and security leaders felt the need to respond in this way. What the IAF did on Saturday – flying 3,400 kilometers round trip over hostile areas and attacking an enemy’s strategic asset – is something to take pride in and a significant achievement. It is natural to want to trumpet this.Sometimes, however, it’s just worth letting the actions speak. Sometimes commentary is superfluous. This was one of those times.Israel’s enemies are deterred by actions, not words. If words had a deterrent power, the country’s North would not still be under a barrage of daily rocket fire from Hezbollah, because Israel’s threats against Hezbollah – with Gallant leading the way – have been many and frequent.
Still, Hezbollah has not gotten the message. It’s actions that count, not threats.And this is why the action taken on Saturday against the Houthis was so significant. As Gallant said, the Houthis have attacked Israel 200 times since October 7, and this was the first time Israel responded in any meaningful way.Will it end the Houthi attacks? No, as indicated by the Houthi’s firing of a ballistic missile toward Eilat on Sunday that was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace. Nevertheless, the Houthis and their Iranian paymasters now realize there is a cost.Will this moderate their behavior? Perhaps, but only if the cost continues to be high.
What took so long for Israel to respond?
One question that needs to be asked is what took so long? What took Israel more than nine months to respond forcefully to the Houthi provocations?Was it because the country has enough on its plate as it is without opening up another front? Or was it because, as Netanyahu hinted, Friday’s drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed 50-year-old Yevgeny Ferder was the first time that the Houthis succeeded in killing anyone in Israel?If the latter is the reason – that the fierceness of the retaliation is because this time the attack succeeded – then that is an indication that one important lesson from October 7 has not been learned or internalized.Ever Since Hamas overthrew the Palestinian Authority and took control of Gaza in 2007, they were furiously building up their military capabilities. Israel saw it, and – with the exception of various rounds of fighting – did not make concerted efforts to dismantle it.Why not? Because it did not seem deadly. Check that, it was deadly. The rockets fired from Gaza, the tunnel system they constructed, and the inflammable balloons, were all potentially deadly. But a potential threat is not the same as a rocket that kills people.Israel spent billions of dollars to protect its citizens – it built a hi-tech wall both above and below ground, it developed and invested in the Iron Dome, and it built safe rooms and shelters for the Gaza border communities.The result was that though Hamas kept trying, their ability to kill large numbers of Israelis at any one time seemed limited.Israel did not treat attempted murder – the firing of rockets into civilian areas – the same as murder, and as a result did not aggressively and overwhelmingly act to remove the threat. As long as the Iron Dome worked, as long as a
Hamas rocket did not land in a preschool in Sderot during school hours and kill dozens, then Israel could live with the threat just across the border.Until it couldn’t. Until October 7 hit and the equivalent of 1,000 rockets hitting 1,000 Sderot preschools transpired, leaving 1,200 people dead and another 250 kidnapped and carried off as hostages.
Actions need to be taken
The lesson that needs to be learned is that action needs to be taken even if attempted attacks fall short or are thwarted by Israeli security forces or Israeli technology.What is true in Gaza is true in Lebanon as well. Israel turned a blind eye to Hezbollah’s arming itself to the teeth and building up directly on Israel’s northern border – all in blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that put an end to the 2006 Second Lebanon War.Israel saw what was going on but didn’t act.Why not? Because life in Israel was good. The hi-tech industry was on fire, the economy was booming, and diplomatic relations around the world were expanding. If things are good, why tip over the apple cart?The one front where Israel did act to prevent a buildup was in Syria, where for years Israel acted forcefully to prevent Iran from turning Syria into yet another launching pad for strikes against Israel.But, for the most part, the country’s motto was, “If the attack doesn’t kill anyone if the missiles are not fired, leave it alone.”Since October 7, that motto has also guided Israel’s policy toward the Houthis.But There were a couple of problems with that policy. First, it is inevitable that at some point one of those attacks is going to succeed, one of those drones or ballistic missiles is going to get through the defense system, and people will be killed. Secondly, if you don’t respond, you are only inviting more attacks.If the Houthis, over the last nine months, could fire suicide drones and ballistic missiles at Israel, if they could fire on ships at sea headed for Israeli ports and not pay a price, then why cease and desist?One attack such as Saturday’s on a Houthi port – as important as that port is – is not going to force them to cease and desist either. This is one reason why some of the Israeli chest-thumping is premature. Save the victory dance for a victory; don’t strut after every single successful engagement.Nevertheless, that one attack on a Houthi port sends a signal to the Houthis and their Iranian masters that there will be a price to pay for continued attacks, and that they cannot attack with impunity and get by with it just because Israel’s defense system protects its citizens and these attacks have not led to a massive loss of life.The Houthis have for months violated Israeli sovereignty, and that alone – even without a huge death toll – deserved a robust Israeli response.That response finally came on Saturday. From this time onward, Israel should not wait until the Houthis’ attacks kill someone else before taking retaliatory action but should respond forcefully against their infrastructure and revenue-bearing facilities every time they attack. If this is done, then one of the lessons of October 7 will have been learned – even without the establishment of a State Commission of Inquiry.