Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Tells 'Al-Akhbar' Daily: We Will Escalate Attacks On Israel; We Will Use Unconventional Weapons

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Following the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinian factions headed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, after the attack perpetrated on army bases and communities in Israel on October 7, 2023, the Houthi Ansar Allah movement has carried out several attacks against Israel, mainly targeting the city of Eilat, in the south of the country. The attacks have utilized drones and missiles and were launched “to support and assist the Palestinian people.”[1] The most recent attack was on November 9, 2023.[2] According to Houthi “military sources” who spoke to the Al-Akhbar daily, published in Lebanon, these attacks utilized “improved conventional missiles,” which were developed by the Houthi air forces, especially Quds missiles and Samad-3 drones. These sources asserted that there would likely be an imminent escalation in attacks against Israel and warned that “unconventional, accurate cruise missiles” – with the capability of evading the aerial defense systems of Israel and its ally, the U.S. – would be utilized. The daily assumed that the reference was to hypersonic missiles. Furthermore, a senior Houthi official warned the U.S. and Israel that “any escalation adventure in Yemen will cost them dearly and will fail.”

The following are translated excerpts from the article that appeared in the Al-Akhbar daily:[3]

“After the Sana’a forces [i.e. the Houthis] managed to evade the American and the Saudi aerial defense systems and perpetrated an extremely wide-ranging missile attack on Israel two days ago [November 9, 2023], Yemeni [Houthi] military sources anticipate an increase in attacks and a broadening of their scope in the coming days, and hinted at the use of hypersonic missiles. Two Yemeni military sources told Al-Akhbar that ‘in previous Sana’a attacks against the entity [i.e. Israel] improved conventional missiles were utilized. The true campaign against the enemy will begin with the use of unconventional, accurate cruise missiles with excellent capability to evade aerial defense systems… Most of the missiles used in previous attacks were Quds missiles and Samad-3 drones – two weapons which are being developed by the Yemeni air forces and which were used in the past in attacks against Saudi Arabia… We have much newer missiles that can bypass all the air defense systems of the enemy.’ Both sources predicted an imminent escalation in the scope of the attacks on Israeli targets.”

The daily notes that these remarks correspond with declarations made a year ago by senior Houthi officials about their intention to acquire hypersonic missiles, and also with statements made by Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Ansar Allah movement Supreme Political Council, in June 2023.[4] Al-Akhbar further states that on November 9, 2023, in an interview with the BBC, he threatened that hypersonic missiles would be used against Israel.

Another Houthi claim that appeared in the article was that Houthi forces carried out “a marine deterrence operation that forced Washington to redeploy its forces in the Red Sea after the downing of its MQ9 drone,”[5] which compelled the Americans to move warships away from the coast of Yemen, and American planes to distance themselves from Yemeni airspace.

Ali Al-Qhoom, another member of the Houthi Ansar Allah movement Supreme Political Council, told Al-Akhbar that, “The Yemeni people and leadership have decided to assist Palestine and its oppressed people with all the means that exist and they have a long arm with which to attack strategic and military targets deep in the Zionist entity, in all the geography of occupied Palestine. And they have proved this with deeds… at the instruction of the [Houthi] leader Abdullah ['Abd Al-Malik Badr Al-Din] Al-Houthi, the Ministry of Defense in Sana’a carried out attacks for which they claimed responsibility by means of ballistic missiles and drones with a range of more than 2,000 km… These attacks worried the Americans and the Zionists who were surprised by the advanced military capabilities and by the powerful and strategic attacks.” He added that, “the enemies must understand that any escalation adventure in Yemen will cost them dearly and will fail.”