The IAF undertook its largest and farthest strikes against Yemen’s Houthis on Thursday afternoon in response to recent attacks on Eilat.
Twenty IAF fighter jets flew 2,200 kilometers – some targets in Yemen are “only” 1,800 km. away – and dropped more than 65 munitions, the IDF reported.
In the past, attacks have relied on as many as 50 or as few as 20 munitions.
There were seven different targets, including five Houthi military bases and two large weapons storage sites, relating to drones, ballistic missiles, and other items, the IDF said.
This was the IAF’s 15th attack against the Houthis.
lang="iw" dir="rtl">הנחתנו כעת מכה עוצמתית על מטרות טרור רבות של ארגון הטרור החות'י בצנעא במסגרת מבצע "חבילה עוברת".
מטוסי חיל האוויר תקפו מספר מחנות צבאיים, בין היתר מחנה של המטכ"ל החות'י, חיסלו עשרות רבות של פעילי טרור חות'ים והשמידו מאגרי כטב"מים ואמל"ח.
כמו שהבטחתי אתמול - מי שפוגע בנו ייפגע… pic.twitter.com/On1v3anGHT — ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) September 25, 2025
Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X/Twitter: “We have just delivered a powerful strike on numerous terrorist targets of the Houthi terror organization in Sanaa as part of Operation ‘Pass the Parcel.’ As I promised [on Wednesday], those who harm us will be harmed sevenfold.”
Among the targets struck were the Houthis’ General Staff control headquarters, security and intelligence facilities, the headquarters of their military propaganda unit, and other military camps where weapons and personnel were located, the IDF said.
The IDF published videos and photos of the headquarters and military camps that were hit, detailing the impact on the Houthis.
Houthi drones strike Eilat
Despite Katz’s statement, 15 prior attacks by Israel, including a recent attack that killed many of the Houthis’ leading civilian cabinet ministers, have failed to deter the Houthis from firing on Israel.
IAF strikes on the capital city of Sanaa followed multiple Houthi drone strikes in Eilat, including the one on Wednesday evening that hit a hotel and wounded 48 civilians.
A preliminary probe had found two errors that had led to the Houthis’ drone penetrating Israel’s air defenses, the IDF said Thursday night.
One error was that the drone was not picked up on radar as early as it should have been. Even after that point, there were two attempts to shoot it down, which failed, and there were unspecified errors during the attempts to shoot them down, which have now been corrected, the IDF said.
It was unclear if the second error was correctable or whether the air-defense staff were less prepared because they had less time to fire.
IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin warned Eilat residents to pay attention to warning sirens. Some of those who were harmed on Wednesday had failed to do, he said.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Thursday condemned the drone attack in Eilat and reaffirmed US support for Israel.
“Despite lectures at the UN, the United States will never compromise on supporting Israel against violent terrorists obsessed with its destruction,” he wrote on X.