Haaretz: Houthis specializes in sending large quantities of difficult-to-intercept drones
The Israeli enemy entity appeared to be confused and concerned due to the Yemeni attacks, according to the Zionist publication Haaretz.
Exclusive / Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:
The newspaper quoted Ilan Zalyat, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv who works on the Gulf States program, saying: “There are so many drones,” noting that “the Houthis specialize in sending large groups of drones that are difficult to intercept.
Zalyat said it collides into the target and explodes, and this what is happening in Ukraine”—sometimes even reaching the same model, where Russia was purchasing Iranian drones.
He added, “It is very effective against infrastructure and often used against oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, as well as civilian targets. And he says, “It can reach enormous distances.”
According to the newspaper, Dr. Brandon Friedman from the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University likens the drone and missile attacks faced by Saudi Arabia and the UAE by the Houthis to the bombardment that Israel was subjected to.
Friedman said: “The Houthis have been targeting the Saudi home front for years; there were serious escalations in 2019 and 2021.” They even managed to strike Jeddah and Riyadh, which are about 1,000 kilometers away.
According to Friedman, confronting the Houthis means confronting an increasingly brutal enemy that has shown a systematic ability to strike its targets using a combination of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
The options for confronting the “Houthis” are limited, the newspaper indicates, as they enjoy easy access to strategic assets: Bab Al-Mandab, the strait linking the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal.
“What concerns me about moving forward is that the Houthis may start targeting shipments passing through Bab Al-Mandab, and this could be an even greater vulnerability not just for Israel but for others as well,” says Friedman of the Moshe Dayan Center. We haven’t seen that yet, but this is a potential escalation link that needs to be monitored.”
The Houthis are far too distant from Israel—it’s important that we take that into account—but they are closer to shipping lanes, so it’s an easier target and a more vulnerable target.
Zalyat says such targeting would have repercussions for the entire global economy. “They can target cargo and commercial ships with drones in the Red Sea, whether Israeli or American ships.
The Houthis are projected to strike an attack there if there is an escalation in which Hezbollah attacks and the US attacks it by itself.” Zalyat goes on, “It’s too close and too convenient. We need to be aware of this threat because it has the potential to discourage the US from interfering.
The newspaper confirms that Israelis’ reaction was a mixture of concern and confusion, as Yemen was not an expected front for them.