The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, still reeling from deadly Israeli strikes last week, launched a missile at Israel on Thursday and accused UN staffers of spying for the Jewish state.
Defense Minister Israel Katz responded to the missile attack, writing on X: “The Houthis are firing missiles at Israel again. A plague of darkness, a plague of [death of] the firstborn – we will complete all ten plagues.”
The tweet was a reference to the biblical story of the exodus from Egypt, according to which God struck the Egyptians with ten plagues before Pharaoh allowed the enslaved Hebrews to leave.
Some hours after later, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said it received a report of an incident 178 nautical miles northwest of Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah, where an unknown projectile was seen to hit the sea some distance from a vessel.
The vessel and crew were safe and proceeding to their next port of call, UKMTO said in a post on X.
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The Houthis have launched several missiles at ships linked to Israel in recent days, though there have been no reported impacts.
Mohammed Miftah, interim Prime Minister of the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group’s that controls parts of Yemen, attends the funeral of his slain predecessor Ahmed Ghaleb Al-Rahwi and other officials, who killed in an Israeli strike days earlier, in Sanaa, September 1, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
The missile launch Thursday marked the Houthis’ third attack on Israel in 24 hours, after the military intercepted two missiles on Wednesday, one in the morning and one in the evening.
The missile fired Wednesday morning was carrying a cluster munition warhead, the Israel Defense Forces said.
There were no injuries in any of the incidents.
The attacks came as the Houthis continued a wave of missile and drone launches over the past week, after Israeli airstrikes killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi and several members of his cabinet.
On Tuesday, the IDF said that two Houthi missiles launched at Israel had disintegrated over Saudi Arabia.
According to Saudi reports, the remaining Houthi leaders have fled the rebel-held capital of Sanaa out of fear of further Israeli strikes.
Houthis accuse UN staff of spying for Israel, US
In the wake of Israel’s targeted hit last week, the Houthis arrested at least 11 United Nations workers. A Houthi official told AFP Thursday, on condition of anonymity, that the UN staffers are suspected of spying for Israel and the United States.
“Those who were arrested from among the United Nations employees are accused of spying for the American and Israeli aggression,” the official said. “Whoever has the accusations against them confirmed will be referred to trial.”
Yemenis raise placards during an anti-Israel, anti-US rally, in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa on August 29, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
The detainees included workers from the World Food Program and UNICEF, which provides aid and support for children.
Dozens of other people were arrested on Saturday “on suspicion of collaborating with Israel,” a Yemeni security source told AFP at the time.
The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the Hamas terror group’s October 7 massacre and hostage-taking in southern Israel.
The Houthis temporarily held their fire when a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. By then, they had fired over 40 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July 2024, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, they have launched more than 71 ballistic missiles and at least 23 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.
Neither the UN nor the EU recognizes the group as the legitimate government in Yemen, and the UN designates the Houthis as a terrorist organization. The Western-recognized Republic of Yemen, which is battling the rebels, is the country’s official representative at the UN.
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