The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, operate from Yemen. They are a rebel terror organization. The Houthi ideology is summarized in its slogan: “God is the Greatest. Death to America, Death to Israel, a Curse upon the Jews, Victory to Islam.”
The Houthis have long been a nuisance to Israel and the region. But much of their activity has also been lethal.
Beginning shortly after the commencement of the Gaza war in October 2023, the Iran-backed Houthis carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on some 100 merchant vessels attempting to cross the Red Sea. Houthi threats and interference forced many carriers to avoid key waterways and interfered with global shipping activity. The Houthis initially claimed to be attacking Israel-linked ships, but very few of the vessels targeted had any ties to Israel.
In the past year, the Houthis launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones against Israel, vowing to continue its attack until Israel withdraws from Gaza. According to the IDF, most of the Houthi missiles and drones did not reach Israel or were intercepted by the military and Israeli allies in the region. But some got through.
The Houthis are proud members of the Iran-led Axis of Resistance, even if their allegiance to Iran is a bit more attenuated and less financially dependent than that of other Axis allies. But the Axis, which focuses on targeting Israel and America, is clearly hobbled.
Hamas has been degraded and weakened in Gaza. Hezbollah leadership has been decapitated and its fighters were forced into a cease-fire agreement with Israel. Syria is in flux with the crumbling of the Assad regime. Shiite militias in Iraq decided to stop attacking Israel last week. And Iran’s vaunted military and strategic defense systems have been neutered by targeted Israeli air attacks.
The Houthis are the last Axis leg standing. That leg needs to be broken.
Over the past two weeks, the Houthis have been firing missiles at central Israel. After one missile hit a school in Ramat Gan, the IDF launched air attacks against multiple Houthi targets, seeking to paralyze all three Houthi-controlled Yemeni ports, fuel depots, power stations and tugboats used in the ports. The raids were successful, but the Houthis have continued firing. And in the process, Houthi popularity across the Muslim world has risen as they are seen as the vanguard of the fight against Israel.
Israel obviously needs to respond more forcefully and has said that it will. Indeed, some of that more forceful response has already started. Whether that also means the pinpointed targeting of Houthi leadership, the destruction of fighting forces and those who support them, or both, remains to be seen.
But in making more aggressive moves against the Houthis, those moves Israel will undoubtedly be guided by what it has learned from the failures of the Saudi-led Sunni group that started a decade ago and the joint U.S. and UK effort from last year, both of which who have seen only modest success in their efforts to dislodge Houthi leadership and degrade its military capabilities.
It falls to Israel to do what it can to solve the Houthi puzzle.
