The Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital Sanaa since 2014 as part of the country’s devastating war, claimed in a later military statement that there had been three attacks on Israel, without elaborating on the time frame of the operations or clarifying whether Tuesday’s volleys were about one or two attacks.
In addition to the attack in which the US fired missiles, there was a mysterious explosion on Thursday that rocked the Egyptian resort of Taba, near the border with Israel. Six people were injured in the explosion, which Egyptian authorities did not explain.
“Our forces fired a large load of ballistic missiles and a large number of drones at various targets of the Israeli enemy,” Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General said. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a televised statement. “The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that this operation is the third operation in support of our oppressed brothers in Palestine and confirm that we will continue to conduct higher quality attacks with missiles and drones until Israeli aggression ends.”
Tuesday’s attack marked an incredibly rare combat use for Israel of the Arrow missile defense system, which intercepts long-range ballistic missiles with a warhead designed to destroy targets in space, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“All airstrikes were intercepted outside Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said. “No infiltrations were detected on Israeli territory.”
However, the rocket fire triggered a rare air raid siren alarm in Eilat, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Jerusalem, sending people fleeing to shelters.
Saree did not name the specific weapons used in the attack. However, the use of the arrow suggests that it was a ballistic missile. The Houthis have a variant of their Burkan ballistic missile, modeled on an Iranian type of missile and believed to have a range of over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), to strike near Eilat.
The incoming fire comes as the troop and aircraft carrier USS Bataan and other elements of its strike group are likely currently in the Red Sea along with other U.S. ships.
Air Force Brigade. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, confirmed the Houthi fire directed at Israel and suggested the rebels had missiles that could have a range of about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles).
“This is something we will continue to monitor,” Ryder said. “We want to prevent a major regional conflict.”
Saudi Arabia also did not respond to questions. The kingdom has seen four of its soldiers killed in fighting with the Houthis in southern Jazan province in recent days, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday citing anonymous sources. This comes even though Saudi Arabia has been trying for months to reach a peace deal with the Houthis after years of waging a stalled war against them.
The Houthis’ statement drew Iran even further into the conflict. Tehran has long supported both the Houthis and Hamas, as well as the Lebanese Shiite militia group Hezbollah, which continues to engage in deadly cross-border firefights with the Israelis. Since the start of the war, U.S. troops have also been the target of drone strikes on bases in Iraq and Syria claimed by militia groups allied with Iran.
The Houthis follow the Shiite Zaydi faith, a branch of Shiite Islam spread almost exclusively in Yemen. The rebel slogan has long been: “God is the greatest; Death to America; Death to Israel; curse the Jews; Victory of Islam.”
But “now they have the hard power to support it,” said Thomas Juneau, a professor at the University of Ottawa who has studied Yemen for years.
“It was only a matter of time before they succeeded,” said Juneau, referring to the rebels’ steadily advancing missile program with Iranian support. “The fact that there is another front directly to the south increases the risk that Israel’s (air defenses) can be overwhelmed, and then it can be even more worrying” if Hezbollah, Hamas and others launch massive rocket attacks.
Iran has long denied supplying the Houthis with weapons, although it has transferred rifles, grenades, rockets and other weapons to Yemeni militias via sea routes. Independent experts, Western nations and United Nations experts have traced components seized aboard other detained ships to Iran.
The reason for this is likely to be a UN arms embargo, which has banned arms deliveries to the Houthis since 2014.
There was also at least one attack claimed by the Houthis in which suspicion later fell entirely on Iran. In 2019, cruise missiles and drones successfully penetrated Saudi Arabia, striking the heart of its oil industry in Abqaiq. That attack temporarily halved the kingdom’s production and sent global energy prices higher by the highest percentage since the 1991 Gulf War.
While the Houthis claimed credit for the Abqaiq attack, the US, Saudi Arabia and analysts blamed Iran. UN experts also said it was “unlikely” that the Houthis carried out the attack, although Tehran denied involvement.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations warned in a statement to The Associated Press that allied militias like the Houthis could expand their operations against Israel.
“The warnings from Iran regarding the first days of civilian casualties in Gaza highlighted a concern: if left unchecked, these atrocities could provoke public outrage and exhaust the patience of resistance movements,” the Iranian mission said. “These concerns can be addressed and the responsibility rests squarely in the hands of the American government to stop the violations that continue to be committed by the Israeli regime.”