Sanaa: Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, announced on Friday a joint military operation firing a “barrage of ballistic missiles” at Israel’s Jaffa area escalating regional tensions in West Asia.
The claim came in a statement from Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree, who detailed the attack’s coordination with allied groups. “The attack was conducted in coordination with allied forces across the region, with support for the resistance and jihad fronts in Iraq, Iran, Palestine, and Lebanon,” The Economic Times reported, quoting Saree.
He specified that the group “carried out a military operation using a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting vital Israeli enemy targets in the occupied
Yaffa area.”
Saree further asserted that the operation was “jointly executed with forces linked to Iran and the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah, adding that the strike ‘successfully achieved its objectives.'”
The Houthis indicated that their military involvement in the conflict would continue and potentially intensify depending on developments on the ground. Saree also lauded partners in Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Palestine, calling them “forces defending regional dignity against what it termed a Western-Zionist scheme”.
Israel’s response was swift. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a Telegram statement shortly after the missile launch: “Initial report – The IDF has identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory; aerial defense systems are operating to intercept the threat. The public is requested to follow the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines.”
This follows the group’s earlier claim on Wednesday of executing its “third joint operation” in coordination with allied groups in Iran and Lebanon, targeting “sensitive sites” in “south of occupied Palestine.”