Houthis have joined Israel’s war on the side of Iran

In a new moment of escalation, the Houthis of Yemen have joined Israel’s war on the side of Iran:

Houthis escalation

The Houthis entered the war by launching a military attack on Israel (who themselves began the conflict by attacking Iran):

al Jazeera reported:

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have attacked Israel with a barrage of ballistic missiles – their first such strikes since the United States-Israeli war on Iran began.

Brigadier-General Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the Houthis, announced the attack on Saturday on the rebels’ Al Masirah satellite television.

Strikes “will continue until the declared objectives are achieved, as stated in the previous statement by the armed forces, and until the aggression against all fronts of the resistance ceases”, Saree said.

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The Israeli military said it intercepted one missile.

As of right now, the Houthis have only declared hostilities against Israel — not the US:

A new opponent entering the war could prove to be a real problem for Israel. As we reported on 27 March, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid:

shared a post—viewed by 1 million users— warning that Israel is facing a security disaster and that the military is “on the verge of collapse.”

He cited Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who sounded the same alarm to political-security cabinet. In a veiled message to Netanyahu, he Lapid said:

“Anyone who heard him yesterday will not be able to say, “I didn’t know.””

The war on Iran has led to the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz. As we’ve all learned, this has proven disastrous, because vast percentages of the world’s fuel, fertiliser, gas, and other resources pass through this narrow passage. What people may learn next is that the Houthis are positioned to close an entirely different strait.

The Bab-al Mandab Strait leads to Egypt’s Suez Canal. This passage allows ships to travel through the Mediterranean, facilitating shipping between Europe and Asia without a need to travel around Africa.

Capital markets commenters the Kobeissi Letter noted the following:

In a major escalation, Yemen’s Houthi Group has officially joined the war with a ballistic missle launch at Israel, just as the war hit its one-month mark.

All eyes are now on the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

If closed, the world loses another ~6 million barrels of daily oil supply

War

The Houthis entering the conflict is another sign that things could continue to escalate. It’s also another moment of grim vindication for those who warned that launching a war in the Middle East would be chaotic, costly, and futile.

Featured image via Al Jazeera