The Iranian-backed Houthis launched two long-range missiles at Israel on Thursday. The attack was an attempt to showcase that they can fire multiple missiles in broad daylight, even as US airstrikes continue to hit them.
The Houthis have been attacking Israel for more than a year, using ballistic missiles and drones. They have also attacked ships in the Red Sea. Nevertheless, their most recent attack was another example of their escalation.
The missile attack took place in the afternoon, as some parents would have been picking up their children, and as other kids were transitioning to afternoon activities.
This is the second attack in a week designed to terrorize Israelis, the first was on Sunday at 7:20 a.m., which was timed to coincide with parents dropping off their children at school.
The Houthis want to demonstrate that they can attack at the time and place of their choosing. Firing two missiles highlighted a new level of attack that is designed to demonstrate their capabilities despite being the target of intensifying US airstrikes since March 15.
The Houthis appear to be keeping their missiles in underground bunkers, and these areas are hard to find and strike. Ballistic missiles can be disguised in the back of flatbed trucks and carried inside of a type of shipping container, for instance, as showcased by the Iranians in the past.
It is likely this kind of disguise may have made it to Yemen. In addition, it is notoriously hard to find rocket launchers. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US tried to stop Scud missile attacks against Israel that were launched by Saddam Hussein’s regime from Anbar Province in western Iraq.
The “great Scud hunt” did not go well, and it showed how even modern militaries have a hard time finding the proverbial Scud needle in the haystack of a desert.
Yemen is full of mountainous terrain that rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has mountain crags and steep roads, all of which make it hard to find missiles that might be rolled out of cave complexes or underground missile bunkers.
The Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.
The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.
Houthis remain deterred
The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months.
Never in Israel’s history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.
Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.