Houthis fire first ballistic missile at Israel in 2 months, warn of more in coming days
Projectile shot down by Arrow defense system over Saudi Arabia; Iran-backed group says it will expand targets unless Israel halts renewed aerial campaign on Gaza
The Houthi rebels launched a ballistic missile at Israel from Yemen Tuesday evening, marking the first attack from the Iran-backed group since the ceasefire came into effect in the Gaza Strip two months ago.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had successfully intercepted the missile before it could reach Israel’s borders, shooting it down with the long-range Arrow defense system over Saudi Arabia.
It nevertheless sent thousands running for shelter, with sirens blaring in numerous towns across southern Israel, including Beersheba and Dimona.
The Houthi’s military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed a short while later that the rebel group had attacked the Nevatim air base in the Negev desert with a Palestine-2 ballistic missile.
He warned that they would continue to expand their range of targets in Israel in the coming hours and days unless Israel were to halt its renewed aerial campaign in the Gaza Strip.
“Yemen, its leadership, people, and army will not stand idly by while witnessing all the massacres against our people in Gaza,” Saree said in a televised address.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Israel launched a shock offensive in the Gaza Strip, shattering the fragile ceasefire that had been in place since January 19.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the resumption of fighting was a result of Hamas’s “repeated refusal” to release additional Israeli hostages.
At least 404 Palestinians have been killed so far, including children, according to unverified figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. It said another 562 were wounded.
The Houthi missile fire on Tuesday was the first since January 18, as the Yemeni rebel group said that it would halt its attacks on Israel and global shipping routes for as long as the ceasefire in Gaza remained in effect.
Even before Tuesday, the Houthis had threatened to resume attacks on “any Israeli vessel” transiting through the region, after Israel imposed a blockade of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip on March 2.
The Israeli Air Force raised its level of alert due to the threat and then raised it again on Sunday after the White House launched large-scale strikes in Yemen, targeting leaders and senior members of the Iran-backed group.
The US strikes killed 53 people and wounded 98 on Saturday, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.
The Houthis began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after fellow Iran-backed terror group Hamas stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
The Iran-backed rebels fired some 40 ballistic missiles from November 2023 until just days before Israel reached the ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas. The Houthis also launched several attack drones at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July. Responding to the attacks, Israel has carried out several strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen.
Meanwhile, the Houthis attacked Israeli and other ships in nearby waters, disturbing global shipping lanes, in what the rebels said were acts of solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians during the war with Hamas.
The rebels targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors during their campaign.
Agencies contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.