Israelis are no strangers to the bluster, bravado, and bombast of their enemies.
From Hamas to Hezbollah to Iran, Israel’s enemies proclaim victory even as they suffer defeat, boasting of apocalyptic capabilities that are pure illusion.
But even by those standards, a statement Saturday night from Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, stood out. His remarks came after Israel’s precision strike on the Houthi leadership in Sanaa on Thursday that killed the group’s prime minister and several political and military leaders.
“We will take revenge, and what the enemy has achieved is nothing more than a chance success,” he said in a recorded message. “To the Zionists, I say: Dark days await you.”
Israel must take these vows of revenge and “dark days” seriously. Indeed, the cabinet met Sunday in an undisclosed secure location as a precaution against any Houthi attempt at a tit-for-tat response.
But it is the middle clause – “what the enemy has achieved is nothing more than a chance success”– that is most revealing. Why? Because it is so detached from reality.
A chance success? Hardly. A chance success is when an errant mortar shell happens to land where it causes some damage. Hitting the Houthi leadership compound 2,500 kilometers from Israel’s borders was anything but accidental. It was the product of intelligence work, careful planning, and long-range precision – not luck. It was the exact opposite of “chance success.”
Abu Obeida's assassination shows Israel's intelligence, operational superiority on display
This same combination of intelligence and operational superiority was again on display on Saturday with Israel’s assassination of Abu Obeida, Hamas’s longtime spokespersons and one of its remaining leaders in Gaza.
For two decades, he has been the masked face of Hamas’s so-called “military” wing, the voice announcing kidnappings, issuing threats, and delivering ultimatums. He cultivated an aura of invincibility by never revealing his face and presenting himself as untouchable. Now, however, Israel tracked him down and killed him in a strike in Gaza City.
After nearly two years of war, Israelis know better than to believe that the killing of any one high-level official – even, for example, Hamas head Yahya Sinwar – will end the war.
But Abu Obeida’s elimination is still significant, because Hamas wages war on two fronts: one of rockets and tunnels; the other of propaganda.
As the recent “Israel is starving Gaza” campaign showed, Hamas has been effective in shaping global narratives. Abu Obeida played a central role in that effort. His assassination will weaken Hamas’s ability to project its message. Silencing him is more than a tactical success; it is a strategic blow.
Taking out such a figure illustrates again Israel’s capacity to penetrate even the most secretive layers of its enemies’ leadership. It demonstrates that the same state that can eliminate the Houthi prime minister in Yemen can also find and strike one of Hamas’s most elusive operatives in Gaza.
These are not “chance successes.” They are precise operations that require patience, resources, and unmatched intelligence. And they should reassure Israelis. Even as the war grinds on, and the price remains painful, Israel’s military edge – its ability to locate, target, and eliminate adversaries near and far – remains intact.
Ever since the Houthis began launching rockets, drones, and ballistic missiles at Israel – aiming at critical infrastructure such as Ben-Gurion Airport – many people have asked themselves why it was proving so difficult to deal with this new front, especially considering Israel’s successes against Hezbollah and Iran.
But unlike with Iran and Hezbollah – where Israel spent decades gathering intelligence, mapping targets, and drawing up plans – it had no ready blueprint for the Houthis.
When they first struck in November 2023, Israel lacked a clear intelligence picture and had to start from scratch. Building that picture takes time, but Thursday’s attack showed both the Israeli public and the Houthis that the effort is bearing fruit.
Until recently, Israel’s target bank against the Houthis was sparse – partly because of Yemen’s vast terrain and partly because intelligence was so thin. As a result, the responses were often confined to hitting the same ports or airports time after time.
Thursday’s strike, coupled with the elimination of Abu Obeida, sent a clear message: Israel’s arm is long, and none of its enemies are immune. And when enemy leaders must devote considerable energy to protecting themselves, they have less capacity to plan, command, and wage war as effectively as they did before.