National Unity party chairman MK Benny Gantz called on the government to strike Iran directly following the recent attacks by the Houthis in Yemen, one of Iran's proxy armies.
"The solution to putting an end to the attacks lies in Tehran,” Gantz said at the weekly National Unity faction meeting Monday afternoon. “We today have the opportunity to catalyze a ‘strategic flip’ against Iran and its proxies. We must capitalize on the opportunity. It would be a strategic mistake of historic proportions not to."
He declared that Israel “must target Iran directly" instead of merely retaliating against the Houthis.
Turning to the ongoing conflict with the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, Gantz stated, “Israel must bring the hostages home, and the nations of the region together with the United States must work together with Israel to remove the threat of a nuclear Iranian regime."
“We must use this time to do what Netanyahu has refused to do for over a year — replace the Hamas government,” he added, accusing the Netanyahu government of letting Hamas continue to govern Gaza.
“The State of Israel has not made a real decision to replace Hamas. It is not working with our friends in the world to establish an administration to run the Gaza Strip as I proposed a year ago. Such plans exist in the defense establishment, but this is something that can only be led by a determined political echelon, one that is not bound by messianic dreams and coalition needs,” he said.
Gantz's comments echo recent calls by Mossad chief David Barnea that Israel strke Iran rather than the Houthis and "go after the head."
On Saturday morning, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi-launched ballistic missile exploded in Jaffa.
Last Wednesday night, debris from an intercepted Houthi ballistic missile fell in a school in the Ramat Gan neighborhood of Ramat Ef'al, causing severe damage to both the building and vehicles.
Earlier today (Monday), a UAV launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory was intercepted by the IAF.
The UAV was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory. No sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.
