Yemen’s Houthis declare war on Israel; missiles, drones launched

Yemen’s Houthis have declared war on Israel, military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement on Tuesday, October 31. A large batch of ballistic and winged missiles and a large number of drones have been launched at various targets, he said.

In a series of posts on X, Sarea described the attacks as supportive of Palestinians in Gaza who are facing “American-Israeli aggression” amid the “weakness of the official Arab regime[s] and the collusion of some with the Israeli enemy.”

In response to Israel’s aggression in Gaza, “with the help of God Almighty, our armed forces launched a large batch of ballistic and winged missiles and a large number of drones at various targets of the Israeli enemy in the occupied territories,” he said in a post on X.

On the other hand, Israeli media reported that fighter jets shot down incoming drones while the Arrow air defense system intercepted a ballistic missile launched from the Red Sea area.

These developments have effectively brought the Houthi movement into the ongoing Hamas-Israel war. Houthis are backed by Iran as part of an “axis of resistance against the American-Israeli aggression”. The Houthis seized power in Iran nine years ago.

Yemen’s official entry into the Hamas-Israel war comes hard on the heals of Iran warning Israel against its continued bombardment of Gaza.