Dim Amor

This is a continuation of the Houthis' show of force from Yemen against Israel. This morning at 05:21, alerts were activated in several areas across the country following a launch from Yemen, and at 05:26, an IDF spokesperson announced that the Air Force intercepted one missile that was fired from Yemen. This continues a trend of consecutive launches based on Houthi attacks that have fired missiles at Israel for five consecutive days during recent weeks.

The Houthis are a Shia-Zaydi Islamic political military organization in Yemen that has controlled extensive parts of the country since 2014, numbering between 350-500 thousand Shia fighters from the Zaydi branch. Iran supplies the Houthis with advanced weapons for long-range attacks, including Tufan and Fateh-1 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs, and trains them at facilities in Iran and at an Iranian naval academy.

The Houthi threat to Israel has intensified significantly since the outbreak of the Iron Swords war. On October 19, 2023, the Houthis fired ballistic missiles and UAVs toward Israel for the first time, which were intercepted by the American destroyer Carney and by Saudi Arabia. Since then, the organization has continued consistent terrorist activity against Israel, with some missiles succeeding in hitting civilian targets.

Ballistic missiles fired from Yemen hit an elementary school in Ramat Afal in Ramat Gan in December 2024, a playground in Jaffa, and caused additional damage throughout the country. The new missiles being fired at Israel are not ordinary missiles – they include a maneuvering warhead that doesn't fall freely but zigzags and attempts to evade interception, making it difficult for Israeli defense systems.

The Houthis' launch systems are mobile and agile – large launchers mounted on heavy-duty trucks, hidden in natural caves throughout northern Yemen. The Houthis can transport a launcher out, and the missile will be ready to fire in less than half an hour. This differs from the missile systems of Hamas and Hezbollah that were neutralized by Israel.

Iran has dispersed the missiles in northern Yemen among different territories, so that no tribe can seize many of them at once, and the ballistic missiles are launched by small staff units that underwent complex training in Iran. The Houthi movement's slogan – "God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, victory to Islam" – reflects extreme anti-Western, antisemitic and anti-Israeli ideology.

Israel's confrontation with the Houthi threat presents unique challenges. The IDF has attacked Yemen four times in the past year – the best fighter jets dropped the world's smartest bombs on power stations and port facilities, weapons warehouses and various infrastructure, but the Houthis were not deterred. The method that neutralized the long-range fire systems of Hamas and Hezbollah cannot work on the Houthis because of the different structure of the mobile launch systems.

Alongside the military threat, the Houthis pose a threat to the Israeli economy. The Houthis possess Iranian-made shore-to-ship missiles that can cause enormous damage to any ship and send commodity prices soaring. The organization has threatened to attack Israeli vessels passing through the Red Sea, which could affect trade and insurance costs.

Along the axis stretching between Yemen and Israel, advanced defense systems are deployed. In the Red Sea, US Navy warships patrol, equipped with advanced radar systems capable of efficiently detecting small and cunning targets, and even easily locating ballistic missiles.

According to media reports, on June 20, 2025, the IDF made first use of the "Barak" system, integrated into the Air Force's air defense array. The system successfully intercepted an unmanned aircraft, which apparently penetrated from Iranian territory into Israeli airspace.

A gaping chasm exists between extensive parts of the predominantly Sunni Yemeni public and the Shia Houthi group, which suffers from a lack of governmental legitimacy after coming to power by force of arms. The Israeli attack on the coastal city of Al-Hodeidah in July caused damage to oil storage facilities and a power station, with long-term environmental and health consequences for the Yemeni population.

This morning's missile launch from Yemen and its successful interception demonstrate the new security reality in which Israel finds itself. This involves ongoing confrontation with a long-range threat from a country located approximately 1,600 kilometers from Israel, while Houthi missiles and UAVs continue to reach their targets in Israel in less than 12 minutes from the moment of launch.

The Israeli challenge is clear: how to deal with a terrorist organization funded and armed by Iran, possessing advanced technological capabilities, operating from a great distance, and whose launch systems are mobile and difficult to detect. This morning's launch proves that despite military and diplomatic efforts, the Houthi threat to Israel continues and intensifies.

Photo: AP