Yemen91裸聊视频檚 Houthi rebels for the first time Tuesday claimed , drawing their main sponsor Iran closer into the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and further raising the risks of a regional conflict erupting.
The Houthis had been suspected of an attack earlier this month targeting Israel by sending missiles and drones over the crucial shipping lane of the Red Sea, an assault that saw .
This time on Tuesday, however, Israel said its own fighter jets and its new Arrow missile defense system shot down two salvos of incoming fire hours apart as it approached the country91裸聊视频檚 key Red Sea shipping port of Eilat.
The Houthis, who have held Yemen91裸聊视频檚 capital, Sanaa, since 2014 as part of that country91裸聊视频檚 ruinous war, claimed three attacks on Israel in a later military statement, without elaborating on the timeframe of the operations and whether Tuesday91裸聊视频檚 salvos represented one or two attacks.
Beyond the attack that saw the U.S. shoot down missiles, there had been a mysterious explosion Thursday that hit the Egyptian resort town of Taba, near the border with Israel. The blast, which Egyptian authorities have not explained, wounded six people.
91裸聊视频砄ur armed forces launched a large batch of ballistic missiles and a large number of drones at various targets of the Israeli enemy,91裸聊视频� Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a televised statement. 91裸聊视频淭he Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that this operation is the third operation in support of our oppressed brothers in Palestine and confirm that we will continue to carry out more qualitative strikes with missiles and drones until the Israeli aggression stops.91裸聊视频�
For Israel, Tuesday91裸聊视频檚 attack marked an incredibly rare reported in-combat use of the Arrow missile defense system, which intercepts long-range ballistic missiles with a warhead designed to destroy targets while they are in space, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
91裸聊视频淎ll aerial threats were intercepted outside of Israeli territory,91裸聊视频� the Israeli military said. 91裸聊视频淣o infiltrations were identified into Israeli territory.91裸聊视频�
However, the missile fire sparked a rare air raid siren alarm to go off in Eilat, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Jerusalem, sending people fleeing into shelters.
Saree did not identify the specific weapons used in the attack. However, the use of the arrow suggests it was a ballistic missile. The Houthis have a variant of its Burkan ballistic missile, modeled after a type of an Iranian missile, believed to be able to reach over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) to strike near Eilat.
The incoming fire comes as and other elements of its strike group are likely in the Red Sea now, along with other U.S. vessels.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon91裸聊视频檚 press secretary, acknowledged the Houthi fire targeting Israel, suggesting the rebels had missiles able to reach some 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles).
91裸聊视频淭his is something we will continue to monitor,91裸聊视频� Ryder said. 91裸聊视频淲e want to prevent a broader regional conflict.91裸聊视频�
Saudi Arabia also did not respond to questions. The kingdom saw four of its soldiers killed in its southern Jazan province in recent days in fighting with the Houthis, according to a report Tuesday by Bloomberg citing anonymous sources. That91裸聊视频檚 even as after a yearslong deadlock war against them.
The Houthis91裸聊视频� declaration further drew Iran into the conflict. Tehran has long sponsored both the Houthis and Hamas, as well as the Lebanese Shiite militia group Hezbollah, . U.S. troops also have been targeted in drone attacks on bases in Iraq and Syria claimed by Iranian-allied militia groups since the war started.
The Houthis follow the Shiite Zaydi faith, a branch of Shiite Islam that is almost exclusively found in Yemen. The rebels91裸聊视频� slogan has long been: 91裸聊视频淕od is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.91裸聊视频�
But 91裸聊视频渘ow they have the hard power to back it,91裸聊视频� said Thomas Juneau, a professor at the University of Ottawa who has studied Yemen for years.
91裸聊视频淚t was just a matter of time before they would be able to do this,91裸聊视频� Juneau said, noting the rebels91裸聊视频� steadily advancing missile program that came with Iranian assistance. 91裸聊视频淭he fact that there91裸聊视频檚 another front directly to the south raises the risk that Israel (air defenses) can be overwhelmed and then it can be that much more worrying91裸聊视频� if Hezbollah, Hamas and others launch massive missile barrages.
Iran has long denied arming the Houthis even as . Independent experts, Western nations and United Nations experts have traced components seized aboard other detained vessels back to Iran.
The reason for that likely is a U.N. arms embargo that has prohibited weapons transfers to the Houthis since 2014.
There also has been at least one attack that the Houthis claimed where suspicion later fell fully on Iran. In 2019, cruise missiles and drones successfully penetrated Saudi Arabia and . That attack temporarily halved the kingdom91裸聊视频檚 production and spiked global energy prices by the biggest percentage since the 1991 Gulf War.
While the Houthis claimed the Abqaiq attack, the U.S., Saudi Arabia and analysts blamed Iran. U.N. experts similarly said it was 91裸聊视频渦nlikely91裸聊视频� the Houthis carried out the assault, though Tehran denied being involved.
Iran91裸聊视频檚 mission to the U.N. did not respond to a request for comment on the Houthi attacks.
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