The Houthis' War at Sea Opens New Front Off Shores of Israel and Gaza

The powerful Yemeni rebel movement that claimed attacks on nearly 120 ships over the past six months has announced its first operation in the Mediterranean Sea, potentially opening another front against Israel in a region where U.S. troops are positioned.

News of the alleged operation was unveiled during remarks delivered Thursday by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, leader of Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis. No specifics were given regarding the details of the operation, simply that "one of our military operations during this week was carried out towards the Mediterranean Sea," in addition to eight other operations conducted using 15 missiles and drones in the Red and Arabian Seas, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

The development follows Ansar Allah's announcement earlier this month of a "fourth stage of escalation" in its ongoing maritime campaign in support of Gaza that would extend to the Mediterranean Sea, located roughly 1,100 miles away from the closest territory in Yemen.

As the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continues to intensify, Ansar Allah Deputy Information Secretary Nasreddin Amer told Newsweek that the campaign would not spare any ship or company deemed defiant of the group's de facto blockade of Israel over the conflict.

"So far, the targets are the ships that enter Israeli ports and break Yemen's decision to impose a blockade on the Zionist enemy entity," Amer said, "and also the companies operating these ships, regardless of their nationality or destination, will be completely targeted."

The remarks came just as dramatic footage emerged of what appeared to be Israel Air Force (IAF) interceptors being fired over Israel's southern Red Sea port city of Eilat, a frequent target for Ansar Allah and other factions of the Iran-aligned "Axis of Resistance" that have mobilized across the region since the war in Gaza began.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later reported that "two suspicious aerial targets that approached the city of Eilat from the east were successfully intercepted by IAF fighter jets."

"The targets did not cross into Israeli territory, and no sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol," the IDF said.

Eilat is about 130 miles away from the closest Mediterranean shores located in Gaza, off of which the U.S. military recently began operating a floating pier in support of providing humanitarian aid to the war-torn Palestinian territory. Experts and U.S. officials have warned of potential risks to U.S. personnel being caught up in the broader conflict, but no group has yet issued any specific threats to the project.

Newsweek has reached out to U.S. Central Command for comment on potential operations or threats in its area of operations (AOR).

Earlier this month, a U.S. defense official told Newsweek on background that, "as a matter of longstanding policy, we do not discuss specifics on the methods, capabilities munitions, weapons platforms or tactics used in the AOR by Iran and their proxies as this references intelligence sensitivities and may compromise operational security."

A senior U.S. defense official speaking to reporters on background Monday, however, noted that "the Houthis have an advanced array of weaponry" capable of reaching the Mediterranean.

"There's really no precedent for the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles the way they are doing," the senior defense official said. "They launched missiles at great distance, and I think they have weapons that could reach the Mediterranean."

"I'm not aware of any particular strikes into that region yet but it definitely is of concern that they have that capability," the senior defense official added. "It's a completely illegitimate course of action that they are engaged in. There's no justification for it whatsoever."

This is a developing news story. More information will be added as it becomes available.

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