Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants launched missiles at Israel on Saturday, in their first attack since the war in the Mideast Gulf began.
The group said its "first military operation" targeted sensitive Israeli military sites using "a barrage of ballistic missiles".
Earlier, Israel's Defence Forces confirmed "the launch of a missile from Yemen towards Israel", saying its air defence systems "intercepted the threat".
The Houthis warned on Friday that they would enter the conflict if the US or Israel expanded alliances against Iran, used the Red Sea for hostile operations, or continued escalation against Iran and its regional allies.
The strike raises the risk of a new front in and around the Red Sea. No attacks on merchant vessels or new diversions in the area have been reported today. But the group has previously shown its ability to disrupt trade: from November 2023 to October 2025, its campaign against commercial vessels in the Red Sea cut Suez Canal traffic as shipowners rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, increasing freight and insurance costs.
Mohammed al-Basha — founder of a consultancy specialising in Middle East risk analysis — said today's strike was intended as a signal rather than a step into full-scale war, allowing the Houthis to act militarily without being drawn into a wider fight with the US or Saudi Arabia.
"By striking Israel, they are telling people in Yemen, their partners in the Iran-backed network, and supporters abroad that their priority has not changed. Their direction stays fixed on Israel first," he said.
Al-Basha said the group's next moves are more likely to target commercial shipping than US naval vessels. "Disrupting traffic in the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea creates pressure without crossing a line that could trigger a direct US response. After that, the scope could widen to include Gulf states. For now, the hope is that this remains a signal rather than the start of a broader escalation."
