The missile and drone attacks on Tuesday targeting Israel claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the first time has intensifyed its ongoing conflict with Hamas. Along with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Iran-backed Houthi also joining the attacks would be quite stressful for Israel to tackle.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it has used its Arrow aerial defence system to tackle the attack and has intercepted all the missiles.
The Houthis, who have held Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since 2014, claimed three attacks on Israel in a later military statement. "Our armed forces launched a large batch of ballistic missiles and a large number of drones at various targets of the Israeli enemy," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement.
"The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that this operation is the third operation in support of our oppressed brothers in Palestine and confirm that we will continue to carry out more qualitative strikes with missiles and drones until the Israeli aggression stops,” he said.
According to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, Arrow missile defence system intercepts long-range ballistic missiles. Therefore, it could be said that the Israeli forces intercepted a ballistic missile that was fired from Red Sea area.
The Houthis have a variant of its Burkan ballistic missile, modeled after a type of an Iranian missile, believed to be able to reach over 1,000 kilometers to strike near Eilat, reported The Associated Press.
The latest Houthis attack further draws Iran closer to the conflict. Iran has long denied arming Houthis even as it has been transferring rifles, missile and other weaponary to the Yemeni militia. Experts including United Nations had found evidence of seized weapons drawing back to Iran.
In 2019, cruise missiles and drones successfully penetrated Saudi Arabia and struck the heart of its oil industry in Abqaiq. While the Houthis claimed the Abqaiq attack, the US, and Saudi Arabia among others blamed Iran.
Dozens killed in Gaza refugee camp airstrike
Over 50 dead after an airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon.
The Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement that "more than 50 martyrs and around 150 wounded and dozens under the rubble, in a heinous Israeli massacre that targeted a large area of homes in Jabalia camp.”
The United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for humanitarian access to be granted to meet the needs of the civilians.
"I condemn the killing of civilians in Gaza and I am dismayed by reports that two-thirds of those who have been killed are women and children," Guterres said in a statement.
Mounting fears
Meanwhile, Jordan's request for Patriot air defence systems from Washington shows its growing concern about being caught in the crossfire if the war in Gaza pulls in Iran.
According to reports, Jordan was appealing for more advanced US defence hardware. "Jordan needs these weapons to protect itself, but it is also in the U.S. interest, and it is a key deterrence to the Iranians," Mamoun Abu Nuwar, a former Jordanian air force general was quoted by Reuters.
The Palestinian death toll has crossed 8,500 since the Hamas attack on October 7.