From November 2024 to January 2025, the Iranian-backed Houthis sought to position themselves as the major front against Israel. They increased their use of ballistic missiles to target central Israel, causing alarms across a swath of country and sending millions to bomb shelters. This continued for two months, and the terror group showed they could launch missiles every few days. However, since the ceasefire in January, they have remained quiet.
The Houthis are observing the ceasefire in line with other Iranian-backed groups. Those groups said they were attacking Israel in solidarity with Gaza, part of an Iranian plan that sought to “unite the arenas” against Israel, essentially creating a seven-front war against Israel.
Hamas triggered this war on October 7. Hamas had held talks with Iran, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad over the last several years about working more closely. The Houthis increasingly were part of these discussions, likely via a channel from Beirut and Tehran that sought to bring them into the fold.
The terror group began its campaign against Israel slowly in the wake of October 7, targeting Eilat and southern Israel with drones and missiles. Then, it began focusing on ships in the Red Sea that it said were linked to Israel, even hijacking one and sinking others. Later, it graduated to using long-range drones and missiles to target central Israel.
Houthis haven't been deterred
Now, what has become of the Houthis? Israel launched several rounds of airstrikes against them, targeting areas in Hodeidah port and elsewhere in Yemen. However, they are seemingly undeterred.
The terror group may have stopped its attacks, but it has not forgotten the war. Recently, the Houthis held a military parade in Hodeidah governorate in Yemen in which they said that 8,000 men graduated from “Al-Aqsa Flood courses.”
The fact that the group has named the course after the October 7 massacre is clearly a show of support for Hamas.
The Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV channel said on Monday, “The grand military parade reflected the level of combat readiness of the graduates of the Al-Aqsa Flood courses, who represent reserve forces trained in various weapons, physical preparation, and military culture based on a solid jihadist faith reference to preserve national sovereignty, protect the land, and defend the religion of God and the oppressed.”
The same report said that the graduates of these courses are now ready to confront the “plans and conspiracies of the American-British-Zionist evil trinity and those who revolve in their orbit.” The graduates of the recent program “chanted slogans” to celebrate their courses. The whole event sounded a bit tedious.
“The speeches during the presentation expressed pride and honor in the graduation of this large batch of Hodeidah’s sons, which comes within the framework of continuous preparation and readiness to confront any threats within the battle of Yemen to confront the American-British enemy and anyone who dares to tamper with Yemeni sovereignty,” the Houthi media said.
The report added that this is part of the Houthis’ continued support for the Palestinian people.