Yemen’s Houthis on Tuesday fired a missile toward Israel in response to Israel’s massive bombardment in Gaza, demonstrating that the group, officially known as Ansar Allah, won’t be deterred by US airstrikes.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the missile targeted the Nevatim airbase in Israel’s Negev desert. Sirens sounded in multiple towns and villages in southern Israel, but the Israeli military said its air defenses intercepted the missile before it entered Israeli airspace.
“Yemen, its leadership, people, and army, will not stand idly by while witnessing all these massacres against our people in Gaza,” Saree said, according to Yemen’s SABA news agency.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces, with God’s help, will mobilize all their capabilities and abilities to defend and support the oppressed in Palestine until these crimes against our people in Gaza stop,” Saree added.
The incident marked the first Yemeni attack on Israel since January 18 since the Houthis ceased their operations when the Gaza ceasefire went into effect on January 19. Last week, the Houthis announced they were reimposing the blockade on Israeli shipping in response to Israeli ceasefire violations.
The Houthi announcement prompted major US airstrikes, which killed at least 53 people, including women and children, in Yemen over the weekend. The Houthis responded with attacks on a US aircraft carrier, which were intercepted, and the message from Houthi leadership is that they will not back down in the face of US attacks.
“We affirm that we will resume escalation at the highest levels and will do everything in our power against the Israeli enemy, and we will confront any American aggression against our country in response to our operations against the Israeli enemy,” Ansar Allah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Tuesday.
