Iran’s Houthi proxies in Yemen launched two ballistic missiles toward Israel over the weekend, marking their first direct attack since the outbreak of the broader conflict involving Iran and U.S.-Israeli forces in late February. The Houthis’ entry into the conflict is one of the more dangerous developments since the start of Operation Epic Fury, as Red Sea shipping may once again be under direct threat.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it intercepted at least one missile aimed at southern areas, including near Beersheba. Air raid sirens sounded across the region overnight, though no casualties or significant damage were immediately reported.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced the attack on the group’s Al-Masirah television channel, stating that the missiles targeted “sensitive Israeli military sites.”
Saree said that the missile launches were carried out in support of their allies across the region and warned that operations would continue until what he described as “aggression” against those groups ceases.
The strike signals a significant escalation in the widening conflict, opening a new front in Yemen. Until now, the Houthis had largely stayed on the sidelines of the war, despite previously targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea during earlier regional tensions.
The Houthis’ threat to critical shipping routes could have far-reaching economic consequences. Analysts say the Houthis’ involvement raises concerns about the security of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital maritime passage through which a substantial portion of global trade flows, particularly LNG and oil shipments.
Mohammed Mansour, the Houthis’ deputy information minister, told local media on March 28, “We are conducting this battle in stages, and closing the Bab al-Mandeb strait is among our options.”
The attack comes amid intensifying hostilities across the Middle East, as Israeli forces remain engaged on multiple fronts, including continued missile exchanges with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran again attacked U.S bases in the region, including strikes on bases in Saudi Arabia that reportedly wounded at least fifteen American personnel. The Iranians fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan air base on March 27, where U.S. personnel and aircraft are stationed.
Six were further wounded in a missile strike on Abu Dhabi, while Bahrain intercepted waves of missiles and drones near the U.S. Fifth Fleet naval base. Kuwait also reported damage to its ports at Mubarak Al-Kabeer and Shuwaikh.
Diplomatic efforts led by regional actors have so far failed to gain traction, with officials in Tehran refusing all mediation attempts, including the rejection of the White House’s 15-point peace plan, delivered via Pakistan.
Military observers warn that further escalation could draw in additional actors and threaten key global shipping routes, particularly if tensions spread to other strategic waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the IDF said it struck the headquarters of the Iranian regime’s Marine Industries Organization (MIO) in Tehran.
“This headquarters is responsible for the research, development, and production of a wide range of naval weaponry,” an Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement.
The MIO headquarters was hit as part of “a wide-scale wave of strikes” targeting infrastructure across Iran’s capital overnight. Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was hit for the third time in 10 days as Israel seeks to obliterate the country’s nuclear infrastructure.
Israel has not yet announced a formal response to the latest attack from Yemen, but officials have indicated in the past that strikes from the Houthis would be met with retaliation.
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