Israel’s defense minister pledged on Thursday to unleash the biblical ten plagues of Egypt on Yemen’s Huthi rebels as they increased their missile attacks on Israel.
“The Huthis are firing missiles at Israel again. A plague of darkness, a plague of the firstborn—we will complete all 10 plagues,” Israel Katz posted on X.
He was referring to the ten calamities that God, according to the Book of Exodus, wreaked on Egypt in order to persuade Pharaoh to free the enslaved Israelites.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army reported that a missile fired from Yemen struck beyond Israeli territory, a day after intercepting two Huthi rockets.
Yemeni rebels supported by Iran have pledged to escalate their attacks on Israel following the deaths of their prime minister and 11 other key officials in Israeli air strikes last week.
Since the Gaza conflict began in October 2023, the Huthis have launched frequent drone and missile strikes on Israel, claiming to be in favor of the Palestinians.
Israel has launched numerous rounds of retaliatory attacks in Yemen, targeting both Huthi-held ports and the rebel-held capital, Sanaa.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
