Houthis declare missile strike against Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv

Yemen’s #Houthis from the rebel Ansar Allah movement delivered a "hypersonic ballistic #missile" strike against the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, said Yahya Saree, the organization’s military spokesperson. "The rocket troops of the Yemeni armed forces staged a military operation, attacking the Ben Gurion Airport in the occupied district of Jaffa (Tel Aviv)]," the spokesman said, streamed by Al Masirah television. The movement also attacked a power plant located in the vicinity of Jerusalem, Saree added.

CENTCOM attack on Yemen
The launcher was on Yemeni soil and was ready for use. The US military announced that it had destroyed a Houthi missile and a launcher.

A day of fighting in Yemen
While the world looks at Yemen and sees "#Houthis" who attack in the Red Sea, a lot more is happening in #Yemen that no one (yet) is reporting on.

- Saudi Arabia continues to fire artillery at the Houthis on the border with Yemen in the Shada region (northwest Yemen). Unconfirmed reports indicate that the Saudis killed a Yemeni citizen and wounded seven others.

- An exchange of fire took place between the Yemeni army and the Houthis in the western region. The Yemeni army reports 19 dead and wounded among its soldiers, but no numbers were available for the Houthi side.

A map done by Eran Malka is attached showing the areas of control in Yemen that will help in understanding the chaos going on there.
'In short, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE fought the Houthis for 7 years, there is now a "ceasefire". How much longer this will last before war breaks out - we will have to wait and see.'

Iran provides Houthis with anti-ship ballistic missile: IRGC media

Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), reported on Wednesday that Iran has supplied the Houthi rebels in Yemen with the Ghadr ballistic missile.

The missile, described as the first Iranian anti-ship ballistic missile, is now in the hands of Yemeni fighters, enhancing their capability to target maritime vessels. The revelation is significant as it confirms that Tehran has been arming its proxy forces in Yemen with advanced ballistic missiles. This follows a pattern of Iran's military support to its allies in the region, further destabilizing the Middle East.

Tasnim's report also highlighted the history of the anti-ship ballistic missile's development, pointing out that Iran needs to be able to threaten US and other foreign navies in the broader Middle East.

In March, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps accused Iran of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine, highlighting Tehran's expanding role in global conflicts. Since November, the Houthis have been using Iranian-supplied missiles and drones to attack commercial ships in the Red Sea, a critical global trade route. The attacks were initially a response to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza but have since severely disrupted maritime trade in the region.

The Houthi campaign in the Red Sea began after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Muslim nations to blockade Israeli trade.

Houthis promise safe passage for Russian, Chinese ships in Red Sea, media reports

Representatives of the Yemeni rebel Ansar Allah (#Houthis) movement have assured #Russia and #China that their ships can pass through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait without fear of attacks from the Houthis, Bloomberg said, citing sources.

According to the agency, a relevant agreement was allegedly reached during talks between diplomats of the three countries, which took place in "Oman. Ansar #Allah spokesman Mohamed Abdel Salam headed the Houthi delegation.

Possible reasons why the Houthis have reduced the intensity of attacks on ships in the Red Sea

The intensity of Houthi attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has decreased slightly. The last large vessel attacked was the tanker MADO, transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), which was not seriously damaged and continued on its way.

Last week, the Financial Times reported on secret negotiations between Washington and Tehran. According to him, the United States is trying to influence the Yemeni Houthis not only militarily, but also diplomatically. In January, the White House held secret talks with Iran to persuade the Islamic Republic to influence Yemeni rebels to stop attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Iran did not deny the fact of the meeting, but emphasized that the negotiations were about something completely different.

Islamic Republic authorities claim that "resistance groups in the region do not receive instructions" from Tehran. However, the facts suggest that the Iranians still have considerable influence over their proxy forces. The American administration, for its part, allegedly agreed to lift a number of sanctions from Iran, which will allow the release of $10 billion. This is the price to pay for stopping the Houthi attacks.

Whether this information is a hoax with the aim of discrediting the Ansar Allah movement or, conversely, to raise its status, will become clear in the coming days. It is important to monitor the Houthis' actions over time. Since October 2023, they have carried out more than 100 attacks in the Red Sea and surrounding waters, affecting 15 merchant ships, including four American ones.

Iranian spy ships behind the Houthi's deadly attacks on vessels
Over the past few days, the Yemeni Houthis have increased their attacks on ships sailing in the Red Sea.

However, the Houthis' largest attack on an international waterway occurred on Saturday, when the US military revealed the downing of 32 drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis at targets in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Which put the spotlight back on Iran's indirect role in these attacks.
The Yemeni Minister of Information, Muammar al-Ariani, confirmed yesterday evening that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) established a sea and land bridge to provide the Houthis with precision weapons that it uses in its attacks in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and the Gulf of Aden, through special smuggling networks that use ships.

A former U.S. Army officer said the precision strikes by the Houthis indicated a possible Iranian role.

David de Roches, a former U.S. Army colonel and also a lecturer at the Center for Strategic Studies for the Near East and South Asia at the National Defense University in Washington, hinted at a possible role of The Iranian ship "Bashad" in an attack a few days ago on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, according to the Arab World News Agency. "In my estimation and everyone's estimation, the Iranian intelligence ship - "Bahshad" provides attack data to the Houthi missiles and this is what makes them accurate and deadly" - he added.

Yemeni Houthis claim strikes at three ships in Indian Ocean

The Yemeni #Houthis attacked three ships in the Indian Ocean, the movement's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on the Houthi-controlled Al Masirah TV channel. "The Yemeni Armed Forces have started to expand the scale of its operations against Israeli and Israeli-affiliated ships travelling to ports of the occupied Palestine, increasing it to the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope. […] They have already carried out three operation against three Israeli and US ships in the Indian Ocean using several naval missiles and drones," he said.

The spokesman also said that commercial ships that travel to Israel through the Cape of Good Hope in the southern part of Africa will become a "legitimate target" for the Houthis. "The Yemeni Armed Forces reaffirm that they will not stop preventing the Israeli navigations in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, as well as in the Indian Ocean," he added.

#Container vessel receives damage after attack off #Yemeni coast

A container vessel was attacked southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden, Reuters reported, citing Ambrey, a UK-based maritime security company. According to the news agency, one of the containers aboard the vessel and the crew’s room were damaged. The attack was followed by a fire. No information about casualties is immediately available.

Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, #UKMTO, reported that another ship had been attacked off the Yemeni coast, 91 nautical miles southeast of Aden.

British vessel sinks in Gulf of Aden after Houthi attack, reports Sky News Arabia TV

The Rubymar, a British ship attacked by Houthi rebels from the Yemen-based Ansar Allah movement while navigating the Gulf of Aden, has now sunk, Sky News Arabia television reported, citing Yemeni sources. The TV channel did not disclose any other details of the incident.

Earlier, the Houthis announced they had delivered a missile strike on the Rubymar. Ansar Allah representative Yahya Saria published a corresponding statement on his Telegram channel. According to the rebels' claim, the vessel suffered serious damage and stopped moving. The Houthis acknowledged that the Rubymar may be at risk of sinking.