First Houthi attack on Israel since the start of the war

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said Saturday they had carried out their first attack on Israel since the start of the Middle East war, hours after the Israeli military reported detecting a missile launch from Yemen.

The Houthis had warned a day earlier they would join the conflict, which began Feb. 28 with a U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran. In a video statement posted on X, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group carried out its “first operation” against Israel, targeting “sensitive military sites” with a ballistic missile.

Earlier Saturday, the Israeli military said it had activated air defenses after it “identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory.”

The Houthis are aligned with Tehran as part of what Iran calls the “axis of resistance” against Israel, alongside Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Palestinian Hamas movement and pro-Iran Iraqi armed groups.

“We are ready for direct military intervention in the event of a new alliance with the United States and Israel against Iran … for hostile operations against Iran or any Muslim country from the Red Sea … and if the escalation against the Islamic Republic of Iran continues,” Saree said Friday in a video posted on X.

The group, which controls much of Yemen, previously carried out numerous attacks against Israel and commercial shipping in the Red Sea during the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas from 2023 to 2025. Their missile and drone strikes severely disrupted traffic along the strategic maritime route, now used in particular by Saudi Arabia to export oil without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, where navigation has been blocked by Iran.