The Israeli military announced early Saturday that it had detected a missile fired toward Israel from Yemen and was working to intercept it.
This is the first time Israeli authorities have identified a missile fired from Yemen since the US-Israel war with Iran began four weeks ago.
Officials with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebel movement previously told CNN that they were willing to support Iran and join the war if the US and Israel escalated their attacks.
Mohamed Mansour, deputy head of the Houthi intelligence ministry, said in a text to CNN that closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen, a choke point connecting the Red Sea to global shipping lanes, is a “viable option.”
On the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, Iran has already closed the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway for about 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas, throwing global oil markets into turmoil.
The Houthis are a Shiite Islamist movement that seized control of Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014. With Iran’s continued arms supplies and support, they have emerged as Yemen’s most cohesive military and political entity, controlling much of the country’s northwestern border with Saudi Arabia and holding down the vital Red Sea coastline.
Rebels have already fired on hundreds of Israeli targets in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023, causing major chaos in the Red Sea.
It has also targeted ships with ties to the United States and Britain, disrupting the flow of global trade. Efforts were made to reduce the rebels’ capabilities, but they were unable to stop the attacks.
Nadeen Ebrahim contributed reporting
