Houthis, the Iran-backed rebel group based in Yemen, on Saturday, launched a missile strike on Israel a day after it warned of intervention if attacks on Iran continued.
Israel said it intercepted the missile. The Iranian-backed group confirmed to have attacked Israel for the first time since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, saying it fired a barrage of ballistic missiles “targeting sensitive Israeli military sites” in response to the targeting of Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestinian territories. It added that its operations will continue until the “aggression” on all fronts ends.
The Houthis’ confirmation came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it intercepted a missile from Yemen.
The attack marks the entry of Houthis into the conflict just hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States expects to conclude military operations within “weeks, not months”.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting of G7 foreign ministers in France on Friday, while referring to Iran, Rubio had said, “When we are done with them here in the next couple weeks, they will be weaker than they’ve been in recent history.”
Houthi entry raises risk of conflict expanding?
Houthi entry increases the risk of broadening the conflict, as they can strike targets far beyond Yemen and disrupt shipping around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, like they had done in support of Hamas after the 7 October attacks on Israel.
Houthis are an armed political and religious group that backs Yemen’s Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis. The group has controlled much of northwest Yemen since 2014, when they ousted the internationally-recognised government from the capital, Sanaa.
The attack by Houthis raises the question of whether the rebel group will again target commercial shipping travelling through the Red Sea corridor at a time when a number of tankers have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been closed by Iran.
Houthis attacks hit Red Sea shipping in 2023
The Houthis had started attacking shipping in the Red Sea in November 2023 and launched missiles at Israel, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.
The Houthis targeted commercial shipping with drone and missile attacks as well as assaults by boat and helicopter, leading to companies redirecting their ships away from the Red Sea and choosing the much longer journey around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
The Houthis also carried out attacks against British and US warships in January 2024.
The UK and US carried out a series of attacks against Houthi targets in Yemen in response and deployed a Royal Navy destroyer to protect shipping from attacks by the Houthi rebels.