Yemen’s Houthis Claim Responsibility for Targeting Israel’s Tel Aviv and Ashkelon

Department of Research, Studies and International News 27-09-2024

The Iran-backed Houthi movement announced it launched a ballistic missile toward southern Tel Aviv and deployed a drone to Ashkelon, a coastal city in Israel. The group stated that these actions were in response to Israel’s ongoing military activities in Gaza and Lebanon.

On Friday, the Houthis declared their intention to continue these strikes until Israel halts what they described as “aggression” against Gaza and Lebanon. Although the attempt to strike Tel Aviv was intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree vowed further military action against Israel, framing the operations as support for Palestinians and Lebanese.

The Houthis, since November, have launched several attacks on Israel and have targeted vessels with Israeli ties in key maritime areas such as the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. These actions are part of what the group calls a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli attacks in Gaza.

As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies, resulting in more than 700 fatalities from Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Houthis have also called for an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.

Israel’s military confirmed it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on Friday after sirens were triggered in Tel Aviv, stating that the missile was neutralized by an ‘Arrow’ interceptor beyond Israeli borders.

In a notable escalation earlier this year, the Houthis launched a drone attack on Tel Aviv in July, resulting in the death of one person and injuries to at least 10 others. In retaliation, the Israeli Air Force targeted the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, causing significant damage, a fire, and six fatalities.

Following these events, the Houthis announced a more aggressive phase in their operations against Israel. In a more recent incident, the Houthis reportedly launched a missile that reached central Israel, igniting fires and causing air raid alarms near Ben Gurion Airport. Although Israeli officials denied the missile was hypersonic, they confirmed it was intercepted but not destroyed during flight.

Since 2015, the Houthis have been under a UN-imposed arms embargo. Reports from UN sanctions monitors suggest that the group has received assistance from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hezbollah, and other groups in Iraq.