RAHAT, Israel — Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen launched an attack against Israel on Saturday for the first time since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran a month ago, an intervention that amounted to a widening of the conflict and that brings the potential for further disruption of global trade and markets.
The Israeli military said it had intercepted a missile coming from Yemen, which the Houthis confirmed to be their first operation of the war. The group claimed to have launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israeli military sites. No casualties were reported.
The absence of the Houthis in Iran’s retaliatory efforts over the first month — and uncertainty about the timing and scope of their expected intervention — had particularly unnerved oil markets. In response to Israel’s war on Gaza, the group undertook a lengthy campaign to disrupt shipping through the Red Sea — a route that has further grown in importance since Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The militant group, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, said its “naval blockade” was carried out in solidarity with the Palestinian people and against Israel. It sank four vessels, including at least two cargo ships, killing at least eight sailors.
Last March, President Donald Trump launched a multi-week campaign of military strikes against the Houthis after they targeted maritime traffic and American troops in the Red Sea. The effort saw U.S. warships and jets launch attacks across Yemen in an effort to degrade Houthi military capabilities and doubled as a warning to Tehran. The nearly-two month operation ended in a ceasefirebrokered by Oman, with Trump claiming the Houthis had “capitulated” and pledged to stop their attacks on ships.
In the current American and Israeli war against Iran, the Houthis had been threatening to join in support of Iran and their regional allies.
On Friday, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the group, warned the Houthis’ “fingers are on the trigger for direct military intervention.” He said they would act if there was an escalation of attacks against Iran, if there was the “joining of any other alliances with America and Israel,” or if the Red Sea was used to carry out “hostile operations” against any Muslim country.
Iran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz has frustrated the Trump administration’s war effort. Roughly 15 percent of the world’s oil and 20 percent of its liquefied natural gas pass through the narrow strait, but maritime traffic has been effectively blocked after attacks and threats from Iran.
Trump said Thursday he would delay attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure for 10 days, citing progress in negotiations with Tehran after the U.S. submitted a 15-point plan to end the war. The Pentagon has begun to deploy an increasing number of ground troops in the region at the same time, raising the possibility of U.S. military operations against Iran escalating.
About 4,500 Marines and sailors from the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group have begun arriving in the region, U.S. military officials said in a statement Saturday. The three-ship group includes the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, a 2,200-member task force that includes a battalion of infantry Marines trained for raids by both amphibious landing craft and aircraft.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon also approved the deployment of a couple thousand soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.
Thirteen U.S. troops have been killed in action in the month since the United States and Israel launched their campaign against Iran. At least 303 more have been wounded, including about a dozen with serious injuries, U.S. officials said. Among the most recent were at least 10 injured in an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Friday. Two of those service members suffered serious injuries.
On Saturday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian about efforts to de-escalate, as Israel and Iran traded further strikes. Representatives from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt are expected to visit Islamabad on Sunday for further talks.
The Houthis said their entrance into the war Saturday came in tandem with attacks from Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israel has launched a parallel invasion to root out the Iran-backed militant group that has killed more than 1,000 people, displaced more than a fifth of the population, and caused widespread damage to civilian infrastructure.
The Israeli military on Saturday killed three journalists from Hezbollah-affiliated networks, in what it said was a targeted strike. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos immediately denounced the killing of Fatima Fatouni, Mohammad Fatouni and Ali Shuaib, as part of Israel’s “repeated and deliberate targeting of journalists.”
The Israeli military elaborated only on the targeting of Shuaib, alleging that he was operating as part of a special operations unit within Hezbollah “under the guise of a journalist.” The military said he worked to “expose the locations of Israeli forces” and “disseminate Hezbollah propaganda.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in a statement described those killed as “civilians doing their professional duty.” Video broadcast by Al-Araby in the aftermath of the attack showed their tripods, microphones and cameras splayed out amid the wreckage of their car. Under international humanitarian law, journalists are owed protection during war.
Cheeseman reported from Beirut, Westfall from Rahat, Lamothe from Washington and Craw from London. Lior Soroka in Tel Aviv and Suzy Haidamous in Beirut contributed to this report.
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