Yemen’s Huthis hunt Israel ships in Red Sea

Yemen's Huthi rebels have fired a missile towards Israel and threatened to attack Israeli ships in the Red Sea in support of Hamas terrorists' war against Israelis.

Huthi rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Huthi said the Iran-backed group was monitoring for Israeli vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, even those that do not have Israeli flags.

In a speech broadcast by the rebels' Al-Masirah TV station, he said.

"We will search and verify the ships that belong to" Israel "and we will not hesitate to target them."

The Bab al-Mandab Strait is the narrow pass between Yemen and Djibouti at the foot of the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which carries about a fifth of global oil consumption.

But the Red Sea is a potential area of escalation, where the Huthis could lay sea mines, seize ships or use anti-ship missiles and water-borne drones, analysts say.

The Huthis, declaring themselves part of the "axis of resistance" of Iran-affiliated groups, have launched a series of drone and missile strikes targeting Israel since last month.

It is the first entry into a foreign war for the Huthis, who control much of impoverished Yemen and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since 2015.

'Intercepted'

Huthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the rebels had "launched a batch of ballistic missiles at various targets," including the southern Israeli resort of Eilat.

This came "only 24 hours after another military operation carried out by our armed forces with drones on the same targets," he said on X.

The Israeli army said it had "identified and successfully intercepted" a missile in the area of the Red Sea after sirens sounded in Eilat.

"The target did not cross into Israeli territory, and was intercepted according to protocol," it said in a statement on Telegram.

Israel has vowed to rout out and destroy Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, after the Palestinian terrorists killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages on 7 October, according to Israeli authorities.

More than 11,300 people have since died in retaliatory strikes in Gaza by Israel, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry has claimed.

Meanwhile, Huthi criticized the meeting of Arab and Muslim leaders held in Riyadh on Saturday, saying it "did not come up with any position or practical action (on Israel's siege of Gaza City), and this is sad and shameful."

The joint Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit condemned Israeli forces' actions in Gaza but declined to approve punitive economic and political steps.

The rebel leader also urged countries separating Yemen from the Palestinian territories — Saudi, Jordan and Egypt — to open a "land crossing" to allow fighters to join the war alongside Hamas.