Israel reported shooting down a missile launched from Yemen on Sunday, while the Yemeni Houthi movement claimed responsibility for firing multiple missiles at the Israeli city of Eilat. This escalation follows Israel’s first public strike against the Iran-aligned group on Saturday.
The Houthis have targeted Israel with missiles and drones and disrupted global trade through the Red Sea in retaliation for Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. The conflict in the Palestinian enclave has been raging for nine months, further destabilizing the Middle East.
According to Israeli authorities, the Houthis have launched 200 attacks against Israel since the Gaza war began, many of which were intercepted and most were non-lethal. However, a rare Houthi drone strike on Friday hit Tel Aviv, killing one person. This prompted Israel to launch its first strikes against the group on Saturday, targeting areas near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah and resulting in six fatalities, according to local medics.
In response, the Houthi movement, formally known as Ansar Allah, declared on Sunday that it would continue to target Israel. Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV, “There are no red lines… all sensitive institutions… will be a target for us.”
The Israeli military reported that its Arrow 3 missile defense system intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen on Sunday before it entered Israeli territory. Air raid sirens in the Red Sea port city of Eilat sent residents running for shelter prior to the interception.
This attack extends the violent escalation between Israel and the Houthis that began with the Houthi drone strike in Tel Aviv on Friday, which resulted in one death and four injuries. Israeli airstrikes on Hodeidah on Saturday killed six people and injured more than 80, all reportedly civilians, according to medical sources in Yemen. A Houthi-run TV channel claimed the strikes hit an oil facility and a power station.
Israeli officials have accused Hodeidah port of being used by the Houthis to receive weapon shipments from Iran.
Proxy Battle in the Middle East
The exchanges between Israel and the Houthis are part of a broader spillover from the Gaza war that has drawn in regional and global powers. Iran-aligned groups, including the Houthis, have fired rockets and missiles at Israel in support of Palestinians and Hamas, the Islamist militant group governing Gaza. The United States and its allies support Israel and provide it with weapons.
The conflict began on October 7, following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and over 250 hostages taken to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Since then, Israel has bombed and invaded Gaza in a campaign aimed at eliminating Hamas, with nearly 39,000 reported deaths in Gaza, according to health officials in the enclave.
The Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen and other large population centers, have previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Eilat and other Israeli targets, citing retaliation for Israel’s war on Gaza. The group has also attacked Red Sea shipping routes for months.
Hamas’ allies include Iran-backed groups such as the Houthis, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iraqi paramilitaries. The Houthi movement, primarily composed of members of a minority Shi’ite Muslim group in Yemen, has controlled the country’s capital, Sanaa, for years.