The ruling Shiite Ansar Allah movement in northern Yemen, also known as the Houthis, has waded into the conflict between Israel and Palestine, with Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announcing that the movement has struck Israeli territory three times with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones since the Gaza conflict escalated.
"Our armed forces launched a large number of ballistic and winged missiles, as well as drones, at various targets of the Israeli enemy in the occupied territories," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that this is the third operation in support of our oppressed brothers in Palestine."
The spokesman promised that the Houthis would "continue to carry out more qualitative missile and drone attacks until Israel ceases its aggression."
"We affirm that our Yemeni people's attitude on the Palestinian issue is firm and ethical, and that the Palestinian people have the full right to self-defense and legitimate rights," Saree added.
The Egyptian military spokesman, Gharib Abdel Hafez, reported on Friday that their air force successfully intercepted and neutralized two drones that were detected flying in a south-north direction over the Red Sea. One of the drones was shot down before it could breach Egyptian airspace, while the other one crashed near a hospital situated in the Egyptian coastal town of Taba, close to the border with Israel.
The Israeli army has claimed that the latter drone was launched by the Houthis.
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack from Gaza into Israel, breaching the border and killing and abducting people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel.