Israeli Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Thursday, after the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck multiple targets across Yemen, the fourth Israeli counterattack against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and the most ambitious thus far.

As Breitbart News reported earlier Thursday, Israel hit Yemen’s international airport in the capital city of Sana’a, and port facilities in Hodeida, after several days in which the Houthis fired ballistic missiles and drones at Israeli cities.

The airstrikes came as Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi was giving a televised speech, adding insult to injury.

The purpose of the attacks — especially on the airport — appears to have been to cripple the regime and to prevent it from receiving reinforcements from Iran. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world, and does not have the money or the skills base to build and operate ballistic missiles or drones; it is entirely dependent on Iranian support.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement:

A short while ago, following the approval of operational plans by the Chief of the General Staff, the Minister of Defense, and the Prime Minister, IAF fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen. The Houthi terrorist regime has repeatedly attacked the State of Israel and its citizens, including in UAV and surface-to-surface missile attacks on Israeli territory.

The targets that were struck by the IDF include military infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities in both the Sana’a International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations. In addition, the IDF struck military infrastructure in the Al-Hudaydah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports on the western coast.

These military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. This is a further example of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes.

The Houthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror, and their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world. The Houthi terrorist regime operates as an autonomous terrorist group while relying on Iranian cooperation and funding to carry out its attacks.

The IDF will not hesitate to operate at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office released statements from himself and from foreign Minister Israel Katz — the latter reiterating a threat to target the Houthi rebel leaders themselves:

Prime Minister Netanyahu [translated from Hebrew]:

“This evening we are lighting the second candle of Chanukah. We are in the war of redemption, the Maccabees of our time.

A short while ago, the Air Force attacked targets of the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, both along the coast and in Sana’a.

We are determined to cut off this terrorist arm of Iran’s axis of evil. We will persist until we get the job done.”

Defense Minister Katz [translated from Hebrew]:

“We just saw a precise operation by the IAF, as it struck at strategic Houthi targets in Yemen.

As we have said – whoever harms Israel, we will harm them. We will hunt down all of the Houthis’ leaders and we will strike them just as we have done in other places. Nobody will be able to evade the long arm of Israel. We will strike at them in order to remove the threats to the State of Israel.”

IAF Commanding Officer Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar added: “We have just seen a tangible demonstration of what we are capable of, and we are capable of much more.” And IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said: “Once again, the IDF has demonstrated its ability to reach and strike any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel. Over the years, we have developed capabilities to strike very far from Israel’s territory—precisely, powerfully, and repetitively.”

Given the number of statements, and their content, it appears that Israel is planning to continue airstrikes on Yemen in the coming days, after one-off attacks over the past several months failed to deter the Houthis from firing at Israel.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.