The missile strike on Israel on Saturday morning by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia in Yemen, marked an escalation in the monthlong U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, bringing in a new actor who has now expanded the war beyond the Gulf to the Red Sea, and raises the possibility that the Houthis will again try to block the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint at the entry to the Red Sea, making it impossible for shipping to go from Asia to Europe through the Red Sea-Suez Canal route.
More on the Houthi attack that signals the opening of a new front in the war against Iran and its allies can be found here: “First Houthi launch toward Israel since war began triggers alerts across the Negev,” by Seth J. Frantzman and Tobias Siegal, Jerusalem Post, March 28, 2026:
A ballistic missile was launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory on Saturday morning, marking the first such attack by the Iran-backed Houthis since Operation Roaring Lion began a month ago, the IDF has confirmed.
Air defense systems were activated to intercept the threat, the military said, as sirens sounded across Beersheba and surrounding Negev communities. There were no reports of casualties or damage.
The Houthis confirmed the attack several hours later, saying they had targeted Israel in response to continued Israeli strikes across Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, and the West Bank, and warned that their operations would continue until their “objectives are met.”…
Yes, the Houthis have now “responded” to Israel’s attacks on Iran. But that response was most feeble — two missiles shot at Israel, with one intercepted and the other falling harmlessly into the sea.
Arab News reported that “the group has shown an ability to strike targets far beyond Yemen and disrupt shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, as they did in support of Hamas in Gaza after October 7, 2023.”
The Houthis have previously demonstrated their capacity to halt maritime traffic in the Red Sea, an outcome that could further strain the global economy.
That rerouting of ships away from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal also led to a loss for Egypt of $7-$8 billion in Suez Canal fees.
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said that the group will now join Iran in attacking Israel, and added: “We will take the initiative with full trust and reliance upon God Almighty, just as in previous rounds.”
Judging by the previous rounds of Houthi attacks on Israel, that left the Jewish state largely unscathed thanks both to its ability to intercept Houthi missiles and to the inefficacy of those missiles landing harmlessly in the Red Sea, God Almighty wasn’t much of a help in the past. But this time may be different. So place your trust in Allah, Mr. Al-Houthi. It can’t hurt, and maybe he’ll help you out.
Meanwhile, Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at Chatham House, has claimed that the Houthis have “the geographical ability to destabilize not just the Middle East but the entire world.” This is an exaggeration. The last time that Houthi missiles caused ships to avoid the Red Sea, there was some temporary disruption as shipping companies changed their Asia-to-Europe routes from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to a route in which they doubled the Cape of Good Hope, traveled up the left side of Africa, and went thence to Europe. But this did not “destabilize the entire world.” Like the Suez Canal, Israel’s port of Eilat lost traffic, but the Port of Haifa picked up the slack, both for imports and exports.
One Yemeni said of the chance that Israel will respond to the Houthi attacks: “If anything comes of it, it will bring us nothing but misery.” That remark could apply to all of the terror groups — Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad — that like the Houthis allied themselves with the Islamic Republic and became its proxy in the losing war against the Jewish state. These terror groups have experienced “nothing but misery” from that association, and the same will now happen to the Houthis, who will not only be battered by the IDF as before, but also, quite possibly, by the latest Gulf Arab states to be turned into mortal enemies of Iran — Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Wellington says
Here’s a suggestion: Obliterate the Houthis.
They serve no good purpose. None. Actually, quite the contrary. No more Houthis in the world would be a positive since there is nothing the Houthis can contribute to the betterment of mankind. They are a total negative.
OLD GUY says
Yes Wellington I see this as an opportunity to clean the world of another hate, rape and murdering group of ass backward animals.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Since the US and Israel are busy w/ Iran, here is an idea: let Egypt and Saudi Arabia jointly invade North Yemen. Don’t do it for Israel’s sake – I know they wouldn’t: do it for their own. The Suez is again going to close if shipping past the Bab-el-Mandab stops, and just like Iran, the Houthis are likely to launch attacks on Saudi Arabia
So let Egypt send troops to Saudi Arabia – after all, they are armed to the teeth w/ decades of US military aid, which they don’t need unless they were planning to start another 19730-like war w/ Israel. So let them move a whole bunch of ground troops into Saudi Arabia and help the Saudis invade Yemen. Keep occupying them and finally let either Saudi Arabia annex North Yemen, or work out a deal w/ the government in Aden
Everything can’t be left to just the US and Israel. Let Egypt and Saudi Arabia do their part
Troybeam says
It would be in their best interest to do so, it will depend on how willing they are to get involved to help Iran with their cause.
Ayatrollah says
Oh no. It’s the Houthis. We better submit to Islamic rule.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
But they’re the wrong islamic sect! If one has to submit, shouldn’t one submit to the sunnis? 😈
I know you’re being facetious: so am I!
Winston 101 says
Iran is banking on American’s becoming war fatigued long before the mullahs and the IRGC. They do love death.
Especially when the American caskets continue and increase. Iran’s been at this since 1979 with actual “wins” under their belts. An incomplete list:
1979: American Embassy taken over and American hostages held for 444 days.
1983: U. S. Embassy in Beirut, suicide car bombed. 17 American killed.
1983: U.S. of Marine base bombing in Beirut, suicide truck bombed. 241 Americans killed.
1984: Kidnapping of CIA Chief William Buckley in Beirut. 1 American tortured and killed.
1996: Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. 19 Americans killed.
2000s: Hundreds of Americans killed and seriously wounded in Iraq & Afghanistan “forever wars”.
Untold misery across the world with Irans’s direct actions and their murderous proxy’s actions.
Time is not on the side of the U.S. I think Iran knows this. That’s why Iran will drag this out as long as possible. That’s why the Houthis had been so quiet. Their assignment just became active.
Engaging the Houthis is, I think, a way for Iran to drag the war sequentially, and close another major shipping lane.
I sure hope Trump and Hegseth anticipated this and that they have effective plans to blast the Houthis out of the way. ( I like the idea of Egypt and Saudi Arabia sending troops – it’s the reality, of the abilities of Egyptian and Saudi troops, I have trouble with.)