Houthis Strike Israel, Gulf of Aden

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Worthy News) – Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Thursday said they had launched attacks on both Israel and a ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden, setting the vessel ablaze.

In Israel, air raid sirens wailed early Thursday across the southern port city of Eilat, followed by videos posted online of what appeared to be an interception in the sky overhead.

The Israeli military later said the interception was carried out by its Arrow missile defense system. Israel did not identify what the fire was nor where it came from.

However, the Arrow system intercepts long-range ballistic missiles with a warhead designed to destroy targets while they are in space, experts said.

The system “successfully intercepted a launch which was identified in the area of the Red Sea and was en route to Israel,” the Israeli military said.

“The target did not cross into Israeli territory and did not pose a threat to civilians,” it added.

ESCALATION IN OPERATIONS

Separately in the Gulf of Aden, two missiles were fired at a Palau-flagged cargo ship named Islander, the U.S. military’s Central Command said.

A European naval force in the region described the attack as sparking a fire and wounding one sailor on board the vessel, though the ship was continuing on its way.

The Houthis supreme leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, confirmed the attacks in Israel and the Gulf of Aden.

He said the strikes by his Iran-backed group included “the escalation in sea operations” and were part of a pressure campaign to end Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

But the Houthis’ targets have grown more random since their attacks began in November, endangering a vital waterway for cargo and energy shipments traveling from Asia and the Middle East onward to Europe.

Yet the Houthis strikes highlighted concerns in Israel and among most of its allies that Houthis are still able to attack despite facing U.S.-led airstrikes targeting their forces.

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