Houthi forces in Yemen said they launched ballistic missiles at Israeli military targets in retaliation for attacks on Iran, Labanon, Iraq, and Palestinian territories, marking their first strike on Israel since the outbreak of hostilities.
Houthis strikes are the first such strikes since the US-Israel conflict with Iran escalated.Brigadier-General Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, said the attacks would continue “until the declared objectives are achieved and until the aggression against all fronts of the resistance ceases,” according to the rebels’ Al-Masirah television.
The Israeli military said it intercepted one missile.
The strikes followed a statement by Saree on Friday in which he hinted that the Houthis would join the conflict, describing the targets as “sensitive Israeli military sites.”
Sirens sounded overnight in areas including Beer Sheba and near Israel’s main nuclear research center, as Iran and Hezbollah continued attacks on Israel.
The Houthis have controlled Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014 and have largely remained outside the US-Israel conflict.
Israel’s military said it intercepted at least one missile.
The Houthi intervention in the US-Israel war with Iran risks opening a new front near the Red Sea.
During the Israel-Hamas war, the militia disrupted Red Sea shipping, attacking more than 100 merchant vessels between November 2023 and January 2025, sinking two ships and killing four sailors. The Red Sea handles roughly USD1 trillion in goods annually.
The Houthis has attacked commercial shipping since November 2023, prompted Western powers to protect shipping and reroute vessels around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
There are also reports that the US is considering deploying up to 17,000 additional troops to the region amid rising tensions.
President Donald Trump has claimed repeatedly that US strikes have severely degraded Iran’s military capabilities.
But Iran has launched retaliatory strikes at military bases of the US across Gulf nations. meanwhile, Iranian missile struck a US military base in Saudi Arabia, injuring 12 US soldiers.
‘Our Military Operation in Iran is going GREAT,’ Trump said on his social media platform, without elaborating.
Trump’s statement came even Iran launched missile and drone attacks at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, injuring 12 US soldiers, two of them seriously,US media reported.
The combined missile and drone attacks amounted to ‘one of the most serious breaches of American air Defences in the monthlong war with Iran,’ The New York Times said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported a projectile struck the grounds of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant without causing damage or radiation leaks, fueling concerns of a broader Middle East conflict.
