{"id":363376,"date":"2026-03-28T22:49:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T22:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/363376\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T22:49:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T22:49:28","slug":"yemens-houthis-enter-iran-war-with-drone-and-missile-attacks-on-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/363376\/","title":{"rendered":"Yemen\u2019s Houthis enter Iran war with drone and missile attacks on Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/houthi-spokesman-1000-1024x560.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-127031\" style=\"width:800px\"  \/>Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree issuing a statement regarding the attacks on Israel on March 28. <\/p>\n<p>The Houthis in Yemen <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iran-us-israel-trump-lebanon-march-28-2026-0f919596403d2f851196451f4532717e\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">launched<\/a> several attacks against Israel today, a month into the joint US-Israeli <a href=\"https:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2026\/03\/us-israeli-strikes-continue-as-talks-over-strait-of-hormuz-stall-and-iran-intensifies-internal-crackdown.php\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">operation<\/a> against Iran. Israel <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/IDF\/status\/2037770377716236343\" rel=\"nofollow\">announced<\/a> that it intercepted the first attack early Saturday, a ballistic missile that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/middle-east\/article-891453\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">activated<\/a> air defense sirens in Beersheva and surrounding areas in southern Israel. The Yemeni terrorist group reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/live\/cje4x38q8xqt#:~:text=The%20Houthi%20rebel%20group%20in,its%20airspace%2C%20the%20outlets%20say.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">fired<\/a> a cruise missile at Israel hours later, which was intercepted before reaching Israeli territory, and also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/liveblog_entry\/houthis-claim-responsibility-for-earlier-drone-and-missile-attack-on-eilat\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">claimed<\/a> \u201cresponsibility for a drone launched toward Israel\u2019s Red Sea resort city of Eilat this evening,\u201d which the IDF said it shot down.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond direct attacks on Israel, the Houthis\u2019 entry into the war adds another significant dimension to the ongoing regional conflict. The Iran-backed group is positioned on the Red Sea coast near the Bab al Mandeb Strait, a major maritime chokepoint. If the Houthis attempt to close the strait by targeting ships, as they did during the recent war in Gaza, it could increase pressure on international shipping and economies while the world is already dealing with the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, the military spokesman for the Iran-backed Houthis, Yahya Saree, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MMY1444\/status\/2037792552066179156\" rel=\"nofollow\">announced<\/a> that \u201cthe Yemeni Armed Forces [\u2026] carried out the first military operation, namely a salvo of ballistic missiles, which targeted sensitive military objectives of the Israeli enemy in the south of occupied Palestine.\u201d He said that the attack was \u201cin support and backing of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the resistance fronts in Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine, and given the continuation of military escalation, the targeting of infrastructure, and the commission of crimes and massacres against our brothers in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saree also asserted that Houthi military action would continue \u201cuntil the declared objectives are achieved,\u201d referring to a statement he had made the day before. In that statement, he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MMY1444\/status\/2037630859663028603\" rel=\"nofollow\">called<\/a> for \u201cthe immediate cessation of aggression on Muslim countries in Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq, and the lifting of the unjust siege on Yemen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Saree demanded American and Israeli participation in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Iran, as well as \u201cimplementing the Gaza agreement,\u201d a reference to humanitarian aspects of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. He also said that the Houthis\u2019 \u201cfingers are on the trigger for direct military intervention\u201d if other countries join operations against Iran or its partners, the Red Sea is used to conduct attacks, or a further escalation against Iran requires their participation.<\/p>\n<p>Since the beginning of the US and Israeli military campaign against Iran on February 28, the Houthis have repeatedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2026\/03\/houthis-express-solidarity-with-iran-but-do-not-launch-retaliatory-attacks-yet.php\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">affirmed<\/a> their support for Iran and its other regional proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Iraqi militias, but had not joined the conflict until today.<\/p>\n<p>The Iran-backed terror group had launched hundreds of drones and missiles at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idf.il\/en\/mini-sites\/idf-press-releases-israel-at-war\/january-25-pr\/the-houthis-have-launched-over-350-projectiles-since-october-7\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Israel<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/marco-rubio-secretary-of-state-houthi-airstrikes-face-the-nation\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">commercial shipping, and US forces<\/a> during the war between Israel and Hamas that began on October 7, 2023, claiming the attacks were conducted in solidarity with Gazans. The Houthis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2025\/10\/houthis-signal-pause-on-attacks-on-israel-after-gaza-ceasefire-detail-attacks-during-the-conflict.php\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ceased<\/a> attacks after Israel and Hamas reached a US-brokered ceasefire in October 2025. The United States, Israel, and the United Kingdom have all previously carried out airstrikes against the Houthis in response to the group\u2019s Red Sea terrorism that threatens global shipping, including the US-led bombing campaign, Operation Rough Rider, that ran from March 15 to May 6, 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the Houthis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tags\">Tags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/tags\/houthis\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">houthis<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/tags\/iran\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Iran<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/tags\/israel\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Israel<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/tags\/operation-epic-fury\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Operation Epic Fury<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/tags\/operation-lions-roar\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Operation Lion\u2019s Roar<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/tags\/yemen\" rel=\"tag nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Yemen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree issuing a statement regarding the attacks on Israel on March 28. The Houthis&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8954,85,87,46,43,157282,157313,2893],"class_list":{"0":"post-363376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-houthis","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-iran","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-operation-epic-fury","14":"tag-operation-lions-roar","15":"tag-yemen"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}