Yemen’s Houthis have for the first time announced a strike on Israel that was coordinated with allies in Iraq, namely the ‘Islamic Resistance in Iraq’ – an umbrella organization of Iran-linked Shia paramilitary groups.
The leader of Yemen’s Houthi militia, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, announced Thursday, “Today at daybreak, our military forces commenced coordinated operations with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq by carrying out an important operation towards the port of Haifa.”
“The Yemeni Armed Forces conducted two coordinated military operations with the Iraqi Islamic Resistance. The first targeted two ships carrying military equipment in Haifa’s harbor,” a follow-up Houthi military statement had sadi.
However, the Israel Defense Forces had quickly issued a statement denying that there was any successful strike on Haifa port, which is in the north. “It’s not true,” a military spokesman said. Reaching Haifa would have indeed been a significant long-range achievement, but there’s as yet no evidence of this.
Iraqi militants aligned with Tehran have since Oct.7 conducted several attempted drone or missile operations against Israel, with the projectiles often being intercepted once they get near Israeli airspace.
The Houthis have also fired missiles into southern Israel, which have either fallen into the desert or been intercepted by the country’s significant anti-air capabilities.
Yemen’s Houthis are currently touting that they’ve engaged in the following operations in the past 30 days alone in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Mediterranean:
- fired 91 ballistic missiles
- 38 operations against ships
- unveiled and launched a long-range ballistic missile capable of evading radar
Footage from the launch of the Palestine’ ballistic missile.
The Yemen’s new Ballistic Missile
pic.twitter.com/Z51tV6TIKD— محمد عبدالملك – Mohamed (@Almutawakkil560) June 5, 2024
As for the new missile, the Houthis have said they’ve already fired the new “Palestine” missile Monday at southern Gulf of Aqaba port of Eilat in Israel. According to a description and some details in Associated Press:
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have unveiled a new, solid-fuel missile in their arsenal that resembles aspects of one earlier displayed by Iran that Tehran described as flying at hypersonic speeds.
…Footage released by the Houthis late Wednesday showed the Palestine being raised on what appeared to be a mobile launcher and rising quickly into the air with plumes of white smoke coming from its engine. White smoke is common with solid-fuel missiles.
There is widespread suspicion the Houthis got the technology or even the whole missile itself and its components from Iran. There also remains deep skepticism that the Houthis actually have in their possession radar-evading hypersonic missiles.
If there are any successful strikes on Israeli positions using the ‘Palestine’ missile, there’s a likelihood Israel won’t publicize it, also to avoid handing the Houthis a propaganda ‘win’.
