Israel Launches ‘Operation Black Flag’ Against Houthi Ports in Yemen Following Red Sea Ship Attack
by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
(Worthy News) – Israel launched a series of airstrikes overnight targeting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, after a suspected Houthi drone boat assault on a commercial ship in the Red Sea. The IDF confirmed the strikes as part of a new military campaign dubbed Operation Black Flag, aimed at crippling Houthi terror infrastructure and curbing the group’s maritime threat.
Targets included key Houthi-controlled ports at Hodeidah, Ras Isa, and As-Salif, the Ras Khatib power station, and the Galaxy Leader–a ship hijacked in 2023 and reportedly retrofitted with radar systems to track international vessels for potential attacks.
“The same fate awaits Yemen as Tehran,” declared Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz. “Under Operation Black Flag, the IDF has powerfully struck Houthi terror targets. Anyone who tries to harm Israel will be struck, and any hand raised against Israel will be cut off.”
The strikes followed Israel’s prior evacuation warning issued in Arabic, urging civilians to leave the targeted port areas. Footage released by the IDF showed F-16s departing from Israel for the operation, which was approved mid-flight by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aboard Wing of Zion en route to Washington for a high-level summit with President Donald Trump.
Ship Attacked, Ceasefire Unravels
The air campaign was launched in direct response to the Sunday attack on the Magic Seas, a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier traveling through the Red Sea. According to private security firm Ambrey, eight skiffs and four bomb-laden drone boats assaulted the vessel, severely damaging it and forcing the crew to abandon ship.
Though the Houthis have not officially claimed responsibility, Israeli and Yemeni officials point to the group as the perpetrators. Yemen’s exiled Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani blamed the attack squarely on the Houthis, calling it “proof that the group is merely a proxy for Iran’s regional destabilization strategy.”
The Magic Seas incident took place roughly 60 miles southwest of Hodeidah–deep within Houthi-controlled waters.
Escalating Missile Fire from Yemen
In recent days, the Houthis resumed launching missiles toward Israel, breaking a brief pause observed after a suspected Israeli strike severely injured or killed Houthi military chief Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Ghamari. That strike had been seen as a potential turning point in disrupting Houthi-Iran operations.
Early Monday, the Houthis responded to Israel’s airstrikes with missile launches targeting the Dead Sea and Judean Desert regions. Sirens blared across Jerusalem and southern West Bank towns, including Etzion and Hebron. The IDF reported two missiles fired and attempted interceptions, with no casualties confirmed by Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service.
Ongoing Threat to Red Sea Shipping
Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted over 100 ships in the Red Sea corridor–sinking two and killing four sailors. Their campaign has disrupted nearly $1 trillion in annual trade. Although attacks had diminished after a broad U.S. strike in March, recent weeks have seen renewed Houthi aggression.
The IDF stated that Houthi-held ports were being used to receive Iranian weapons shipments, which are then employed in attacks on Israeli and allied interests.
“The Houthis are not acting alone,” said U.S. Gen. Michael Kurilla in earlier congressional testimony. “Without Iran, their threat would die on the vine.”
Netanyahu-Trump Talks Amid Tensions
The renewed hostilities come just hours before Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump are scheduled to meet in Washington. Their agenda is expected to include long-term plans for post-Hamas Gaza and countering Iran’s influence across the region.
As missiles fall and retaliatory strikes unfold, Operation Black Flag signals Israel’s resolve to defend its people and assert naval security in one of the world’s most vital shipping corridors–regardless of ceasefire optics or international caution. The Houthis, meanwhile, appear undeterred, with military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree declaring they are “fully prepared for a sustained and prolonged confrontation.”
Whether this new front intensifies into a larger regional conflict–or ushers in renewed international pressure on Iran and its proxies–remains to be seen.
Understanding the Spiritual Dynamic of the Conflict in Yemen
At the heart of Shiite Islamic theology is the belief in a divinely guided line of imams descended from the Prophet Muhammad through his cousin and son-in-law Ali. The largest branch, Twelver Shi’ism, holds that the twelfth imam–Muhammad al-Mahdi–went into occultation in the 9th century and will one day return as the Mahdi, or “guided one,” to usher in an era of justice, defeat tyranny, and establish God’s rule on earth. This messianic expectation is central to Shiite eschatology, distinguishing it from Sunni beliefs, where the Mahdi plays a less defined and less doctrinal role.
Yemen’s connection to this theology arises through the Zaydi Shiite movement, from which the Houthi rebels emerged. While Zaydism differs from Twelver Shi’ism–it still embraces a form of messianic hope and reverence for the descendants of Ali. Over the years, the Houthi movement has been heavily influenced and radicalized by Iran’s revolutionary Shiite ideology, which blends political activism, apocalyptic expectation, and anti-Western sentiment. Tehran views the Houthis as an ideological partner and geopolitical proxy, and its clerical regime often frames regional conflicts–such as those involving the Houthis–as part of the divine struggle preceding the Mahdi’s return.
Iran’s Supreme Leader and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) often cast current events through this apocalyptic lens, portraying the chaos in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Israel as signs of the end times and the impending rise of the Mahdi. In this framework, conflict with Israel is especially charged, as Shiite eschatology anticipates a great confrontation between the forces of justice (led by the Mahdi and Jesus, Isa) and the forces of oppression. By supporting groups like the Houthis, Hezbollah, and various militias across the Middle East, Iran sees itself as both hastening the Mahdi’s emergence and fulfilling its theological duty to prepare the ground for his global leadership.
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