Israel vows to ‘defend ourselves alone’ after Trump strikes truce with Houthis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to “defend ourselves alone” against Yemen’s Houthi rebels after US President Donald Trump struck a deal with the Iran-backed group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to “defend ourselves alone” against Yemen’s Houthi rebels after US President Donald Trump struck a deal with the Iran-backed group. The US deal, announced just hours after the Israeli military carried out major strikes against Yemen’s international airport and other facilities in response to a Houthi attack on Israel’s main airport, was a surprise to Israel, which was not informed in advance about the truce, an Israeli official told CNN earlier. According to Trump, the US would halt an ongoing military campaign against the Houthis in exchange for the group stopping its attacks on US interests in the region. The Houthis acknowledged the agreement but made it clear their attacks on Israel would continue. Senior Houthi leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi said after the announcement that the agreement was “a victory that separates US support for the temporary entity (Israel) and a failure for Netanyahu.” On Wednesday, Netanyahu said, “Israel will defend itself by itself.” In the past, Israel has carried out joint strikes with the US against the Houthis, but two consecutive days of Israeli attacks on Yemen earlier this week were done alone. “If others join us—our American friends—all the better. If they don’t, we will still defend ourselves on our own,” he said in a video posted on social media. Trump referred to the deal as capitulation from the Houthis on Tuesday but on Wednesday he said they had a “good outcome with the Houthis,” adding they had a “great capacity to withstand punishment” from repeated US strikes.