Israel has launched retaliatory operations in Yemen over the Houthi attacks on Israeli-occupied territories. This is the first time Israel has revealed its military response to the missiles and drones fired from Yemen.
Today, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, "We are in a multi-front war and are coming under attack from seven theatres: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria (West Bank), Iraq, Yemen and Iran. We have already responded and taken action in six of these theatres."
The Israeli official did not provide details about the scale and type of his country's retaliatory actions in Yemen.
Since October 19, the Houthi group has fired dozens of missiles and drones at Israel, particularly Eilat City, which overlooks the Red Sea. Some of the missiles were intercepted, and others fell short. Israel has not so far reported destruction caused by the Houthi attacks.
A military expert previously told Sheba Intelligence that the absence of any debris from the missiles and drones launched by the Houthis toward Israel indicates that they fell into the sea, which means they cannot strike their targets. Even if the Houthi missiles approach Israeli-occupied territories, they are shot down, he said.
As the Houthi missiles and drones fired at Israel failed to achieve a positive result, the Houthi group began its war on Israeli interests in the Red Sea, including Israeli ships and shipping companies.
On November 19, Houthi armed men seized an Israeli-linked ship off Yemen and directed it to Al-Hudaydah province, which is under their control. Since then, it has launched over 15 missile and drone attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The continued attacks on shipping lanes infuriated Israel, which began considering a military action in Yemen. On December 10, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Israel is prepared to act against Houthi attacks that disrupt shipping in the Red Sea if the international community fails to do so.
Hanegbi stated, "Israel is giving the world some time to organize in order to prevent this, but if there isn't to be a global arrangement, because it is a global issue, we will act in order to remove this naval siege."
The Houthi group says it will continue its attacks on Israel until the Israeli war on Gaza is stopped. The group's leadership also says it is seeking a direct war with Israeli and American forces. In his latest speech on December 20, Houthi movement chief Abdulmalek Al-Houthi said that a direct battle between his group and the American-Israeli forces had been his hope for years.
He added, "We ask all Arab countries and all those who were moved by the Americans in the past …to leave the Americans to enter into a direct war with us, and to abandon us and leave us to be in a direct war with the Israeli enemy."
On December 18, International discussions on maritime security in the Red Sea ended in two agreed-upon measures, an informed source told Sheba Intelligence. The first measure is launching a military strike against the Houthi group over its attacks on cargo ships, and the second is forming an international coalition to protect international shipping lanes, according to the source.
