Houthis in Yemen Claim to Have Fired Ballistic Missiles at Israel Again

A spokesperson for the Houthi rebels in Yemen announced on Thursday that they had fired ballistic missiles towards the Eilat region in southern Israel. This news was reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing Reuters. The Times of Israel later reported, quoting the Israeli army, that the military intercepted a 'suspicious target' in the Arava region (in southern Israel, north of Eilat) using the Patriot air defense system. The Israeli army stated that this target did not enter Israeli airspace and was destroyed in the sky by the mid-range Patriot air defense system. It is unclear what type of aerial target this was. The Times of Israel added that earlier, the long-range Arrow air defense system intercepted another target - a ground-to-ground missile fired towards Eilat. According to this report, this ground-to-ground missile was apparently launched from Yemen and was intercepted over the Red Sea near Eilat. The Israeli army also stated on Thursday that an unidentified drone attacked a civilian building in the port city of Eilat in southern Israel. According to Reuters, this drone attack resulted in no casualties and caused only minor damage to the building. The Houthis' statement regarding the attack on Israel came hours after American fighter jets attacked facilities used by the Revolutionary Guard and affiliated groups in eastern Syria on Wednesday, November 8. The White House stated that the recent U.S. military strikes on facilities linked to the Revolutionary Guard in Syria aimed to destroy weapons used by these forces and Iranian proxy groups and to prevent their attacks on American personnel in the region. The Houthi rebels, who are armed and supported by the Islamic Republic, are considered a proxy group of Iran by experts and have previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Israel. The Houthis entered a war with a Saudi-led military coalition that intervened to support the internationally recognized Yemeni government after overthrowing it. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the ongoing war has severely worsened the situation for its people. The Houthis also fired a ballistic missile towards Eilat last week, which was intercepted by the Arrow air defense system. The Houthi attack on Israel comes as the country seeks to eliminate Hamas's military capabilities in the Gaza Strip following Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, which killed about 1,400 people in the country. Various countries have listed Hamas as a terrorist organization. The U.S. is closely monitoring the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting regarding the Gaza war.