Yemen’s Iran-Backed Houthis Claim to Bomb Tel Aviv

The Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen claimed on Thursday to have struck Tel Aviv, Israel, with a “barrage of ballistic missiles.”

“This operation was conducted jointly with our mujahideen brothers in Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and it successfully achieved its objectives,” Houthi military spokesman Gen. Yahya Saree said.

The Houthis invariably claim all of their attacks “achieved their objectives,” even when every missile they launch has been intercepted.

“All praise and gratitude to the heroic fighters in Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Palestine who defend the dignity of the nation and stand resolutely against the Western-Zionist scheme targeting all the countries and peoples of the nation,” Saree added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said only one missile was fired from Yemen on Thursday, and it appears to have been aimed at Jerusalem, not Tel Aviv. The missile was intercepted by Israeli forces.

Missiles were fired at Tel Aviv on Thursday, but they were apparently launched from Iran, not Yemen. Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, also launched missiles at Israel on Thursday, so Saree’s claim of working “jointly with our mujahideen brothers in Iran and Hezbollah” was technically accurate.

The IDF said a total of 30 missiles had crossed into Israeli airspace from Iran since Wednesday morning, three of them using the notorious cluster bombs that shower civilian areas with indiscriminate munitions. Iran has lately been making more extensive use of cluster bombs because they are more difficult to intercept.

The Houthis joined the war by attacking Israel with a few ballistic missiles over the weekend, with similar claims to be operating “in coordination with our mujahideen brothers in Iran, and Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Friday that for all of Saree’s rhetoric about holy wars and epic battles, the Houthis have taken a “restrained approach” to helping Iran, and seem very concerned about avoiding “international blowback.”

“Strikes on Israel are the Houthis’ most conservative and lowest-risk option to enter the war. Multiple analysts have noted that attacks on Israel are low risk because they symbolically demonstrate involvement in the war while minimizing the risk of entanglement with Gulf states or the United States,” the ISW observed.

The Houthis have notably refrained from restarting their campaign of Red Sea piracy and terrorism, which could do considerable economic damage in concert with Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Yemeni insurgents have threatened to become more active in the war if the U.S. or Israel use the Red Sea to attack Iran, and they have warned that using terrorist tactics to choke off the vital Bab-el-Mandeb Strait remains “among our options” – but it seems to be an option they are reluctant to take, possibly because it would enrage Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have developed financially lucrative relations with the Saudis over the past few years, which they are reluctant to jeopardize.

In fact, the ISW cited a comment from a Yemeni journalist, conveyed through Israeli media, that the Houthis only began launching a few missiles at Israel because the latest round of salary payments from Saudi Arabia was delayed. The Houthis may also be nervous about triggering a new round of strikes by the United States, which inflicted considerable damage on coastal Yemen in 2024 and 2025 while attempting to neutralize the Houthi threat to the Red Sea.