Netanyahu, on the occasion of Hanukkah, promised the fate of Hamas and Hezbollah to the Houthis

On the occasion of Hanukkah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the Houthis of Yemen's Ansar Allah movement the fate of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah and Syria. He said this in a Dec. 25 speech, a recording of which he posted on his X (former Twitter) page.

Netanyahu drew a parallel between the holiday's history and current events, saying that Israelis are now celebrating "the victory of the Maccabees of the past and the victory of the Maccabees of today."

"Just as then, so now we strike at the enemies who thought they could cut short our lives here. This applies to everyone. And the Houthis will learn the lesson that Hamas, Hezbollah, the regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and others have learned. Even if it takes time, this lesson will be learned by the entire Middle East," he announced.

Engaged in attack: Houthis intensify strikes on Israel amid truce in Lebanon

And while the Yemeni movement fills the vacuum, there has been diplomatic activity on the Gaza ceasefire

Earlier, on December 24, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz first confirmed the state's involvement in the assassination of radical Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. He predicted the fate of the leaders of Hamas and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah to the Houthis in Yemen in response to their attacks on Israel.

Prior to that, on Nov. 10, Katz said the Shiite Hezbollah movement had been defeated and called the elimination of the movement's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, a major achievement. He said the only thing left for the state to do is to keep up the pressure on the Shiite organization to reap the fruits of its victory over it.

The IDF announced the elimination of Yahya Sinwar in the southern Gaza Strip on October 17. He became head of the Hamas politburo in early August after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas launched a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip into Israel. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.