Yemen's Houthis Enter Iran War With Attack on Israel

March 29, 2026 | 06:37 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The risk of a wider regional war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran rose after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group launched its first attack on Israel on Saturday since the latest escalation began.

The Houthi armed forces said they fired a ballistic missile at what they described as a “sensitive military site” in southern Israel. The strike marked the group’s first attack since Israel and the United States launched a major assault on Iran on February 28.

As reported by the Bangkok Post, Israel — which had frequently come under Houthi missile fire before the war because of the conflict in Gaza — confirmed that a missile had been launched toward its territory from Yemen.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. However, the attack highlighted the growing risk to global shipping, already strained by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree later said the group had carried out a second attack on Israel in less than 24 hours and vowed more strikes to come.

The Houthis described their latest military action as a legitimate response to what they called “brutal American-Israeli aggression” against Iran and the wider region.

In a statement, the group’s foreign affairs authority said the intervention was part of a broader regional strategy linked to Iran, Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon.

The Houthis accused the United States and Israel of advancing “Zionist plans” that they said threaten the region and aim to create a so-called “Greater Israel” and a new Middle East, while urging Islamic countries to unite.

The group also said its military operations target only its “enemies, namely Israel and America,” and expressed readiness to coordinate with Arab and Islamic countries to avoid misunderstandings.

The Houthis have previously demonstrated their ability to strike targets far beyond Yemen and disrupt shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea. Since October 2023, they have launched attacks they say were intended to support Hamas during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Expanding the War

Meanwhile, as reported by Xinhua and cited by Antara, Yemen’s internationally recognized government condemned the Houthi announcement and warned that such actions could drag the country deeper into a broader regional confrontation.

Salah Ali Salah, a researcher at the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, described the group’s involvement as a “high-risk gamble,” warning that any move threatening shipping in the Red Sea could “trigger direct US intervention.”

The Houthis, who have controlled Sanaa and much of northern Yemen since late 2014, previously backed Iran during last year’s 12-day conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.

Read: Indonesia Seeks Safe Passage for Two Ships 'Trapped' Near Hormuz

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