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On March 28 (local time), as the war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran entered its one-month mark, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels unexpectedly entered the conflict by launching missiles toward Israel.
The strikes have extended the effective blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz and now put freedom of navigation in the Red Sea — a critical global trade artery — at risk. That raises mounting concerns about the potential economic fallout worldwide.
The Israel Defense Forces said they detected missiles launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory that morning and activated air defenses to attempt interceptions. This represents the first military action from Yemen toward Israel since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on the 28th of last month opened the current round of fighting.
Yahya Sari, a Houthi spokesman, confirmed in a statement carried by the Houthi outlet Al-Masirah that “we carried out the first military operation, including missile strikes, targeting major Israeli military objectives.”
He framed the action as fulfilling an earlier pledge to support the “axis of resistance” — Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine — and warned, “Our operations will continue until our objectives are achieved and attacks on the resistance front stop.”
Sari said the operation coincided with “the heroic operations” conducted by Iran’s mujahideen brothers and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, implying coordination with Iran’s military and Hezbollah in timing and execution.
On March 26, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi had warned, “As the people of Yemen, we return loyalty for loyalty,” and said the group would “respond immediately, as in past clashes, if a situation requires military action,” foreshadowing the group’s intervention.
The Houthis — a core element of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” — had largely restrained direct military action even as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite militias entered the fighting after the war began. Analysts say this latest strike appears to mark the start of the Houthis’ active armed involvement.
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