YAHYA ARHAB/EPA
Rebels attacked southern Israel and promise more attacks. Another key strait for world trade is thus under threat.
Yemen’s Huthi rebels announced they had launched a volley of ballistic missiles against southern Israel, claiming it was the first phase of a direct military intervention in support of Iran and its allies in the Middle East.
In a televised statement, the spokesman for the Huthis’ military wing, Yahya Sareestated that the attacks were launched against “sensitive military targets” in southern Israel and were carried out in coordination with what he called ongoing operations by Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The statement by the Huthis, who until now had limited their response to the war in Iran to threats, comes hours after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported this morning that they detected a missile launched towards their territory from Yemen.
“The air defense systems are operational to intercept the threat”, indicated the IDF on its Telegram channel, before considering the threat concluded.
The rebel group justified the attacks as a response to the ongoing US and Israeli offensive against Iran and what it described as an escalation of violence against allied factions in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories. Sarea declared that the operation “successfully achieved its objectives” and warned that there will be new attacks.
“Our operations will continue until the declared objectives are achieved (…) and until the aggression against all fronts of resistance ceases,” he stated.
The spokesman declared on Friday night, before the attack, that these conditions include “the establishment of any new alliance with the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran” and the “use of the Red Sea to carry out hostile operations” against Tehran or any Muslim country.
Another key strait under threat
The renewed Huthi military campaign entails the risk of worsening the already volatile regional conflict.
The group’s geographic location along the Red Sea, especially close to the strategic Bab el-Mandeb straitgives it the ability to disrupt one of the most important maritime corridors in the world, as ZAP reported this Friday:
Previous attacks on ships transiting the area have forced shipping companies to divert their routes to avoid southern Africa, underscoring the global economic implications of the Huthi escalation.
The United States and Iraq announced on Friday night that will “strengthen cooperation” in security matters with the creation of a “joint high committee” to “prevent attacks” by pro-Iranian Iraqi groups.
During the war in Gaza, the Huthis launched more than 1,800 attacks against Israel in support of Palestine, including ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonic missiles, drones and boats, according to figures provided by the Yemeni insurgents. Most of these attacks are intercepted by Israel without causing casualties or damage.
