Though the Israeli military is stuck in Gaza and the northern front with Lebanon, these days the main trouble of the Israelis is Yemen's Ansarullah that has expanded range of its operations deep into the occupied territories.
In the latest operation, on Friday morning, an Ansarullah long-range suicide drone attacked the Israeli capital Tel Aviv, at the edge of the occupied territories near the Mediterranean Sea, bypassing the Iron Dome defense system. In this attack, when the Ansarullah drone hit one of the big towers of the regime's political and security capital, an Israeli was killed and 10 others were injured.
Hours after the Hebrew and Arabic media speculated about the nature of this attack and how it passed through the much-vaunted Iron Dome, Yahya Saree, the spokesman of the Yemeni armed forces, confirmed this attack by the Yemenis, saying: "This operation was carried out with a new drone named Yaffa which is capable of passing through the enemy's interceptors" and that this operation "successfully achieved its goals." In this statement, Tel Aviv was declared as an "unsafe" area, which is in the fire range of the Yemeni forces.
Hezam al-Assad, a member of Ansarullah Movement, said that this attack is just the beginning of upcoming operations against the Israeli regime and that "settlers regardless of their nationality should migrate [out of the occupied territories]. Mohammad Al-Bakhiti, a senior member of Ansarullah's political office, said that Yemen is ready for all possibilities, following the threats of the Israeli authorities.
"The aim of our military operation against Israel was to stop the mass killings in Gaza and we are ready for all scenarios," al-Bakhiti added.
Ansarullah's attack on Tel Aviv was so painful that the Israeli and Western media also admitted it. Israeli media reflected the shock to this regime after the first attack on Tel Aviv and considered this attack similar to the shock that was inflicted on it on October 7, 2023 with Operation Al-Aqsa Storm. Israeli website Intel Times wrote about the drone penetrating the air defenses, saying : "Today was Tel Aviv and tomorrow they will reach the gas platform." Western media also called the attack one of the most dangerous attacks since October 7.
Yemen upgrading to a next stage of war
Ansarullah's attack, which confused the Israeli officials , is a change in the rules of conflict between the resistance groups and the Israeli occupation. This unprecedented operation showed that Yemeni forces are preparing for a new stage of war.
In the past months, Ansarullah has managed to deal heavy blows to the economic artery and foreign trade of Israel with missile operations in the Red Sea against Israeli and allied ships, but now it has extended the scope of its operations into the occupied territories.
The leaders of Sana'a have repeatedly warned that they will not stop their operations as long as the Israeli crimes in Gaza continue. Ansarullah has shown that its hands are not tied and that it has many capabilities that can put pressure on Tel Aviv.
Given the advancing pro-Gaza Yemeni actions, it can be said that Ansarullah has already had the capability and instruments to attack the occupied territories, but it refrained from unveiling its capacities and chose to show them gradually. So, as the Israeli hardliners insist on the war, the Yemenis resort to new options to punish the enemy.
Sending a drone deep into the occupied territories domenstrates the high power of Yemen's weapons, which can put the enemies in a tight spot in air, land and sea. With the recent attack, Ansarullah warned the leaders of Tel Aviv that if the warmongering in Gaza continues and they miscalculate and attack on Lebanon, Sana'a has other surprises for them.
Despite the extensive sanctions, Ansarullah has gained a lot of weapons capabilities with increasing momentum. In the midst of the Gaza war, Sana'a has unveiled its new weapons, including hypersonic missiles and unmanned submarines, capable of targeting the interests of Israel and its Western backers across the Indian Ocean.
In addition to Israeli ships, Ansarullah has also targeted American and British ships, which, according to Washington officials, has been the biggest maritime challenge for the US after World War II. Therefore, the attack on Tel Aviv was a warning to Netanyahu and the radicals in his cabinet to end the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza as soon as possible, or the Axis of Resistance has many options thar make Tel Aviv regret its war on Gaza.
Another important issue regarding the Yemenis' successful drone operation and other operations in recent months is the integrity and comprehensiveness of the strong data that Ansarullah has of ports, economic infrastructures, military targets and sensitive urban centers throughout the occupied territories. The fact that the Yemeni suicide drone hits the intended target accurately and from a distance of 2,000 kilometers bears witness to the data dominance of Ansarullah over the targets which is crucial to success of the operation.
In fact, one of the achievements of the Gaza war was the "unity of the fronts" among the resistance groups in the region that allowed them to share their information and deal a strong blow to the enemy. Lebanon's Hezbollah, which borders the occupied territories, has obtained a lot of information about Israel's strategic and sensitive locations in the last two decades to use them in a possible war.
In the past months, Hezbollah showed off the efficiency of its intelligence and reconnaissance operations methods and wares by sending reconnaissance drones to the occupied territories and obtaining information from the depths of the enemy's territories, just like what the Hudhud drone did last month, proving that all the occupied territories are under the eagleeye view of the resistance.
In this situation, it seems that the flawless operations of the Yemeni and even Iraqi forces should be considered as a result of the intelligence cooperation of different resistance fronts. Ansarullah's recent operation in Tel Aviv also showed that this intelligence cooperation was very efficient and effective. The alliance among the resistance groups represents a nightmare to Tel Aviv officials since this cooperation has shattered the Israeli deterrence.
No place safe for Israelis
From another aspect, Ansarullah's drone penetration of the Iron Dome showed that nowhere in the occupied territories is safe now and the resistance groups can strike whenever they see it necessary.
The fact that the Israeli army with massive radar and military facilities has failed to intercept the drone is a source of confusion and disappointment in the occupation territories and has worried the Israeli officials. Reacting to the operation, opposition leader Yair Lapid said that the drone attack on Tel Aviv is “further evidence that this (Israeli) government cannot provide security to the citizens of Israel... Those who lose deterrence in the north and south also lose it in the heart of Tel Aviv."
With the attack on Tel Aviv, which will undoubtedly not be the last, fear has now gripped the occupied territories, and the scope of protests against the Netanyahu government is expected to expand in the coming weeks, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and the return of its prisoners.
The growing insecurity in the occupied territories has accelerated the reverse migration. Times of Israel on Saturday, citing data published by Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, reported thar the migration of Israelis abroad has increased 285 percent in 2023 compared to 2022. These data also indicate a 21-percent decrease in the number of Jews who migrated to the occupied territories from other countries.
Many of the Zionists migrated to the occupied territories
in hope of better life and security, but with wrong policies of
Netanyahu and his orbit, they feel growing insecurity and this is what
motivates them to flee out. This means that, as the resistance groups in
Yemen and Iraq step up their military, waves of reverse migration will
gain further momentum.
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