Israel claims to have stopped Houthi airstrikes near Red Sea in Yemen

The Israeli military reported on Tuesday that they stopped an attack from Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are supported by Iran. This has created concerns in the region that the Israel-Hamas conflict could expand.

A brig is a person who has a military rank. Gen is short for general. Yahya Saree, a representative for the Houthi forces, said on Houthi-owned Al-Masirah TV that they have launched ballistic missiles and drones at targets in Israel. This is their third operation to support the Palestinian people.

He also said that they planned to do more strikes until the “Israeli aggression” stopped.

“Our military launched many missiles, drones, and winged missiles at different targets in Israel,” he said, referring to all of Israel as areas that are occupied.

The Houthis are a group in Yemen who follow the Shia branch of Islam. They are involved in a war within the country against a coalition supported by Saudi Arabia. They have shown their support for the Palestinians and organized protests in Yemen against Israel’s attack in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they used their Arrow defense system for the first time to stop a missile that was shot from the Red Sea area.

The Houthis used a very powerful missile in their attempted attack, and the Arrow defense system was used to try and stop it.

Israeli fighter jets also stopped and dealt with what the IDF identified as potential risks in the sky. The IDF said they stopped all threats before they reached Israel.

The recent attacks on Israel show that the Iran-backed Houthis are becoming more aggressive. This is happening despite the United States trying to prevent a potential war in the Middle East.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said on Tuesday that there are more conflicts occurring in the region. He also mentioned that members of resistance groups will not stay quiet about America’s strong support for Israel and they will not wait for advice from anyone.

“He said that we must take advantage of the remaining political chances to end the war. If things get worse, both sides will be in danger and suffer the consequences,” as stated by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Houthi attacks on Tuesday happened after another failed attempt two weeks ago. On October 19, a US warship close to the shore of Yemen destroyed four cruise missiles and 15 small flying machines over a span of nine hours. These weapons were traveling north along the Red Sea. This information was shared by a US official who is knowledgeable about the incident. The way they were moving showed without a doubt that the objects were going towards Israel, the official said.

Brigadier, who is the press secretary of the Pentagon, General Pat Ryder said that the missiles were shot by Houthi forces that have support from Iran in Yemen. These missiles were possibly aimed at targets in Israel. It is very uncommon for the US to intercept Houthi missile launches.

Iran has been giving training and weapons to several groups in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza, despite being under strict sanctions imposed by the US for a long time.

Hezbollah, a strong Shia military group, and Israel have been having small fights every day on the border between Israel and Lebanon since the war started. In October, the US sent two groups of ships to the eastern Mediterranean to stop Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah from attacking Israel.

Since the recent war in Gaza began after Hamas caused a lot of destruction on October 7, there have been occasional attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria too.