Carrie Keller-Lynn, Benoit Faucon, and Saleh al-Batati of The Wall Street Journal report that despite extensive U.S. and allied military efforts, including strikes and naval deployments, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue to disrupt Red Sea shipping and launch attacks on Israel. These actions have paralyzed vital trade routes, caused significant global economic losses, and highlighted the Houthis’ growing military sophistication. The Houthis, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., refuse to cease operations, tying their attacks to Israel’s conflict in Gaza. Analysts warn of their expanding capabilities and Tehran’s increased focus on strengthening this group within its regional axis of resistance. They write:
Despite hundreds of American and allied strikes and the deployment of a U.S. Navy flotilla to the Red Sea, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have kept up a steady drumbeat of attacks on commercial shipping passing through the vital waterway and have continued to lob missiles at Israel.
Other Iranian-backed groups, from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the now-deposed regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, have all stopped fighting, at least for now.
Yet the Houthis, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, continue to disrupt global trade, causing billions of dollars in losses and forcing shippers to reroute cargo or run a gantlet of missiles and drones. They say they won’t stop until Israel stops fighting in Gaza. […]
Red Sea trade routes remain paralyzed. Two Houthi missile strikes slipped through Israel’s air defenses last week. The U.S. military struck Houthi command centers and weapons caches on Saturday night in response.
The Houthis are “sinking ships and killing civilian mariners that are in no way related to Israel or Gaza, and even attacking vessels delivering crucial food and humanitarian assistance to the people of Yemen,” Savett said. […]
Experts say that the Houthis on Saturday fired a derivative of an Iranian-made ballistic missile with a maneuverable re-entry vehicle. The Israeli military is investigating how the missile evaded the country’s multilayered aerial defense system.
So far, the Houthis’ fight against Israel, while persistent, has been limited in impact. Israel has intercepted most of the more than 200 missiles and drones the Houthis have fired toward it in the past year.
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