JERUSALEM—Yemen’s Houthi movement launched a volley of drones and cruise missiles toward southern Israel early Thursday, marking the first time the Iran-aligned rebels have directly targeted Israeli territory since the Gaza war erupted on 7 October, according to Israeli and U.S. officials.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its Arrow long-range air-defense system and fighter jets downed “several aerial threats” approaching the port city of Eilat from the southeast. Video verified by independent analysts showed bright flashes above the Red Sea shortly after 2 a.m. local time.
“All detected targets were successfully intercepted outside Israeli airspace. No injuries or damage were recorded,” the IDF said in a statement.
A U.S. defense official separately confirmed that the destroyer USS Carney operating in the Red Sea shot down at least three Houthi-launched drones that appeared to be headed toward Israel. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the Pentagon had not yet released a public statement.
The Shiite-led Houthis control most of northern Yemen and have received training and weapons from Iran, according to U.N. experts. Since 2015 the group has fired ballistic missiles and armed drones at Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but Thursday’s barrage is the first claimed strike aimed at Israel. A Houthi military spokesman said the attack was “in solidarity with our brothers in Gaza” and warned of “fiercer operations” if Israeli forces continue operations in the Palestinian enclave.
Israeli analysts noted the projectiles traveled roughly 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles), demonstrating the Houthis’ expanding reach. “Interdiction this far south shows why Israel deployed Arrow and repositioned Iron Dome batteries near Eilat,” said Michael Horowitz, security analyst at Le Beck.
The Arrow system, co-developed with the United States, is designed to intercept long-range missiles outside the atmosphere, while shorter-range threats near Eilat are handled by Iron Dome and Patriot batteries. Israel first confirmed the system’s operational use on 31 October, when it intercepted a missile from Yemen over the Red Sea.
Regional diplomats fear the latest incident could widen the Israel-Hamas conflict across the Middle East. “Every new front increases the risk of miscalculation between Iran and the U.S.,” said a Gulf official briefed on the exchanges. The White House National Security Council said it was “monitoring the situation closely” and urged all parties to avoid escalatory actions.
Looking ahead, defense officials expect Israel to bolster naval and aerial patrols along the Red Sea shipping lane, a critical artery for Gulf oil exports and Asian trade. Analysts warn that repeated Houthi strikes could trigger Israeli retaliatory strikes in Yemen or coordinated U.S.-Israeli efforts to degrade Houthi launch capabilities, drawing Washington deeper into the region’s overlapping wars.