Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired drones and ballistic missiles Saturday toward Israel, marking the first-known attack from the Iran-backed terror group since the start U.S.-Israeli air campaigns against the Islamic republic.
A Houthi spokesman said the airstrikes targeted “several vital military sites” in southern Israel as an element of their support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“The Yemeni armed forces carried out the second military operation in the ‘Holy Jihad Battle’ with a barrage of cruise missiles and drones,” Yemeni Armed Forces Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said Saturday. “This operation coincided with the military operations being carried out by our mujahideen brothers in Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
The Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted all of the Iran proxy group’s drones and missiles.
The attack raise concern that Tehran and the Houthis may again try to block Red Sea shipping routes through the Bab-el-Mandeb, a critical maritime chokepoint between Yemen and Djibouti. The Houthis said they are ready to intervene militarily if other countries join the U.S. and Israeli mission or try to use the Red Sea to launch attacks against their ally.
“We confirm that our fingers are on the trigger for direct military intervention,” Gen. Saree said.
