Hebrew perceptions about the Houthi response to the Israeli attack on Yemen arsenal of weapons and targets

A Hebrew report monitored the possibilities that may be included in the next phase of escalation that the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) will begin in response to the Israeli attack on Yemen.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported in a report that "the Houthis may respond to the Israeli attack on the Hodeidah Governorate by firing from Yemen towards 'sensitive targets' as they call them in Israeli territory.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, this could “include more or less intensive retaliatory fire on targets they say they have already attacked, such as Eilat, Haifa or Tel Aviv.” However, the possibility that they will try to “challenge” and attack new targets in their target bank cannot be ruled out.

According to the newspaper, "The Houthis receive ammunition from Iran and have various models of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, some of which have already been used against Israel."

The threat “may include launching the fifth stage” of escalation, which is “launching attacks on Israeli territory, or using new weapons or additional threats in the maritime arena.”

The newspaper considered that "the different response options are not contradictory and can also be combined together. For example, there is another option for the Houthi response, which is a joint attack by the Houthis with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq ."

The two sides have united in recent weeks and have already taken responsibility for joint attacks on Israeli territory.

Among other things, “the two groups have said in recent weeks that they have attacked targets in Haifa and ships in the Mediterranean together, and in one claim of responsibility published in June, the Houthis said that they and the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” attacked four ships in the port of Haifa using several drones. In June, a joint operation between the two against a vital target in Ashdod was also published.”

The newspaper quoted a Yemeni official as saying that “the Houthi response may come in several forms, and it is likely that their attacks on ships will increase and the maritime threat will expand, and it is also possible that there will be another attempt to attack the Tel Aviv area,” but “it also raised the possibility of a unified response by the Houthis and other parties.”

He said: "In coordination with the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Hamas, there could be an attack on Israel from all angles."

The Houthis in Yemen have received praise from the entire “Shiite axis of resistance” in recent months.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah praised them greatly in his recent speeches and their commitment to Palestine.

"The Houthi missile arsenal includes many models, some of which were developed in the country with the help of Iran, and others came to the Houthis directly from Iran."

In addition, "the Houthis possess missiles that they seized in 2014," according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

The Israeli Institute for National Security Studies reported that the Houthis are in fact equipped with medium- and long-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, sea-to-sea missiles, attack and suicide drones, and a fleet of drones.

It was noted that "the Houthis have demonstrated the operational capabilities and skills of unmanned vehicles to carry out deadly attacks."

 Indeed,  the leader of the Ansar Allah group in Yemen, Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi , said today that  “targeting Jaffa is the beginning of the fifth phase of escalation , and we consider it a new equation that will continue and be established, God willing and with His support.”

Earlier, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that  air force planes raided the port of Hodeidah in Yemen  "in response to Houthi attacks over the past nine months."

While the military spokesman for the Houthi armed forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, confirmed that they "will respond to this blatant aggression...  and will not hesitate to strike vital targets of the Israeli enemy  ... and to consider the occupied Jaffa area an unsafe area."