There’s growing concern that Israel’s conflict with Hamas will spread across the region, drawing in more groups hostile to Israel. Those fears appeared to be borne out when Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched missiles and drones toward Israel on October 19 and October 31 and threatened further attacks unless Israeli forces end their campaign targeting Hamas militants in Gaza.
1. Who are the Houthis?
Part of a clan that hails from Yemen’s northwestern Saada province, the Houthis are followers of the Zaidi branch of Shiite Islam to which an estimated 25% of the country’s population belongs. After North Yemen and South Yemen were unified in 1990, the Houthis waged a series of rebellions, and in 2014 successfully took control of Sana’a, the capital, launching a civil war that continues to this day.
2. What triggered the Yemen civil war?
In 2011, an Arab Spring revolt forced the country’s ruler, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to step down after three decades in power. Under a US-backed transition accord, President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi replaced him, and talks set the stage for a constitutional convention and new elections. The Houthis, however, rejected a federation plan that arose from those discussions. In 2014, the government lowered fuel subsidies, triggering protests, and the Houthis dislodged Hadi’s government, whose forces retain control of the eastern part of the country. Shiite-majority Iran has aided the Houthis and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia has supported the government. The violence has devastated ordinary Yemenis, who say that between airstrikes, economic collapse and growing starvation, life has become almost unbearable.
3. What threat do the Houthis pose beyond Yemen?
The Houthis began attacking Saudi Arabia after it intervened in Yemen’s war in 2015. Analysts say the Houthis get training, technical expertise and increasingly sophisticated weapons — including drones, ballistic and cruise missiles — from Iran and its Lebanese ally, the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. The US has categorized Hamas as a terrorist group, but revoked the label with reference to the Houthis in 2021, saying the designation could have a devastating impact on Yemenis’ access to basic commodities like food and fuel. The Houthis have shown they can hit targets far beyond Yemen’s borders, damaging Saudi oil infrastructure in 2019, killing three people in Abu Dhabi emirate in January 2022 and targeting an oil depot in the Saudi port city of Jeddah two months later.
4. Have Yemen’s Houthis declared war on Israel?
The Houthis have declared Israel an enemy. In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the movement was targeting Israel with missiles and drones “in support of our oppressed brothers in Palestine” and said the operations would continue “until the Israeli aggression stops.”
5. Can the Houthis really attack Israel?
The Houthis claim to possess a liquid-propellant missile that could have a 1,350–1,950 km (839-1212 mile) range, enough to potentially put Israel within striking distance — at a stretch. Yemen and Israel, separated by Saudi Arabia, are about 1,580 km apart at their nearest point. The US military said the cruise missiles and drones launched toward Israel on October 19 were intercepted by an American destroyer in the Red Sea. The attack on October 31 involved ballistic missiles and drones, according to the Houthis. Israel said its fighter jets and new Arrow missile defence system shot down two salvos of incoming fire hours apart as it approached Israel’s Red Sea shipping port of Eilat, the Associated Press reported.
6. What are the prospects for peace in Yemen?
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have sought to negotiate a permanent ceasefire to the eight-year conflict. The Houthis said they were ready to join UN-led political settlement talks, subject to several conditions. However, the talks faltered when a rift opened between Saudi Arabia and its oil-rich Gulf neighbour the United Arab Emirates, which began to support rival groups vying for control of the country.
(Edited by : Ayushi Agarwal)
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