As Israel struck Houthi positions in Yemen on Thursday morning, experts said a US-led coalition of forces deployed to protect Red Sea shipping was “too timid” to deter the Iran-backed terror group.
“From the beginning of the war with Hamas, the United States was quite fearful of a regional war. They didn’t want Iran to be directly involved and getting the entire Gulf in flames,” Professor Eytan Gilboa, who teaches political science and communications at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, told The Press Service of Israel. “This explains the timid US approach to Yemen, to the Houthis.”
Gilboa added that the White House also feared a major attack on Yemen would complicate efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza.
But “Despite the American pressure not to use force against the Houthis, Israel could no longer tolerate that,” he said, noting that the terror group has launched around 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel.