Israel threatens Houthis with devastating strikes

Israel’s defence minister has promised to inflict the 10 biblical plagues of Egypt on Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Al Jazeera writes.

The threat was issued by Israel Katz on social media on Thursday amid reports that the Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up their missile attacks against Israel. The Yemeni rebel force has resumed attacks in retaliation for last week’s assassination of Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahawi and several senior officials.

Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army said a missile fired from Yemen had struck outside Israeli territory. The previous day, the military had reported it intercepted two Houthi missiles.

The Yemeni group on Monday claimed responsibility for a missile attack in the Red Sea that hit the Israeli-owned tanker Scarlet Ray.

Katz’s threat refers to the 10 disasters that the Bible’s Book of Exodus says were inflicted on Egypt by the Hebrew God to convince the pharaoh to free the enslaved Israelites.