US and UK military forces carried out strikes on Yemen

On the evening of January 5, American and British forces launched an assault on Houthi positions. This operation took place shortly after a ballistic missile was fired from Yemen towards Israel, as reported by The Times of Israel.

According to the publication, which referenced Arabic media, the Western coalition executed three waves of strikes targeting the city of Saada, located in the mountainous northwest of Yemen and under the control of the Houthi rebel group.

There has been no official confirmation from military sources in the United States or the United Kingdom regarding these strikes.

Details of the attacks emerged just hours after a ballistic missile was reportedly launched from Yemen towards Israel around midnight.

Israeli military officials indicated that they successfully intercepted the missile before it could enter Israeli airspace. Air raid sirens were activated in the village of Talmei Elazar during this incident.

A spokesperson for the Houthis communicated via Telegram that their attacks would persist until hostilities in the Gaza Strip come to an end, although he did not explicitly claim responsibility for the missile launch.

Israel’s conflict with the Yemeni Houthis has intensified following the October 7, 2023, incursion of the Palestinian group Hamas into Israel. In response, Islamic factions such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen began shelling Israeli territory in support of their allies.

The ongoing conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah has led to ground operations by the Israeli military in both the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon. Given that Yemen does not share a border with Israel, the exchanges between the Houthis and the Israel Defense Forces primarily involve missile strikes.

At the close of December, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations remarked that the Houthis in Yemen might meet a similar outcome as Hezbollah and Hamas.

Shortly after this declaration, Israeli forces successfully intercepted another missile launched by the Houthis aimed at Israel.

Additionally, during the same period, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) deployed the American THAAD missile defense system for the first time, successfully intercepting a missile fired by the Houthis from Yemen.

On December 26, the Israeli military targeted a civilian airport in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, impacting members of the UN delegation and the director-general of the World Health Organization.