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Israel to Houthis: Whoever Harms Us Will be Harmed Sevenfold

Firefighters work at the scene of an Israeli airstrike on the Haziz power station in southern Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Firefighters work at the scene of an Israeli airstrike on the Haziz power station in southern Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
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Israel to Houthis: Whoever Harms Us Will be Harmed Sevenfold

Firefighters work at the scene of an Israeli airstrike on the Haziz power station in southern Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Firefighters work at the scene of an Israeli airstrike on the Haziz power station in southern Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Israel’s defense minister said Thursday the country would “not allow the continuation” of shooting from Yemen’s Houthis, hours after Israel launched heavy airstrikes on militia sites.

“I suggest the leaders of the Houthi organization to see, to understand and remember, whoever raises a hand against the state of Israel, his hand will be cut off. Whoever harms us will be harmed sevenfold,” said Israel Katz, the defense minister.

Israel would “strike with force,” Katz said, and “not allow the continuation of this situation of shooting and threats against the state of Israel.”

The statement followed a series of intense Israeli airstrikes that shook Sanaa and Hodeidah early Thursday and killed at least nine people, officials said, shortly after a Houthi missile targeted central Israel and badly damaged a school building.

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Sharaa Denies he Wants to Turn Syria into a Version of Afghanistan

This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in Damascus. (Photo by SANA / AFP)
This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in Damascus. (Photo by SANA / AFP)
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Sharaa Denies he Wants to Turn Syria into a Version of Afghanistan

This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in Damascus. (Photo by SANA / AFP)
This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in Damascus. (Photo by SANA / AFP)

The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has said the country is exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbors or to the West, denying that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.

In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for sanctions on Syria to be lifted.

"Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way," he said.

Sharaa led the lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime less than two weeks ago. He is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the opposition alliance, and was previously known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammed al-Golani.

He said HTS should be de-listed as a terrorist organization. It is designated as one by the UN, US, EU and UK.

Sharaa denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan, saying the two countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset.

He also told the BCC that he believed in education for women.

"We've had universities in Idlib for more than eight years," Sharaa said, referring to Syria's northwestern province that has been held by opposition fighters since 2011.

"I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%."