The Houthis and Operation Iron Swords
Since the beginning of Operation Iron Swords, on four different occasions missiles and UAVs have been launched at Israel from the Red Sea area, all of which were intercepted before they reached Israel's airspace. The Houthi movement in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attacks. Since the war began, senior figures of the Houthi movement have been threatening that if Israel continued its actions against the Gaza Strip they would not hesitate to join the campaign alongside Hamas. The Houthi movement was established in Yemen in the early 1990s on a foundation of the country's Zaydi Shi'ite Muslims, who make up about 30% of the population. In 2004, the movement rebelled against the centralist government on the grounds that it had become too closely identified with the United States and Israel. By 2009 six rounds of fighting between the parties had taken place, at the end of which the Houthis established an autonomous region in north Yemen. They increased their power and areas of control, and in 2015 deposed the incumbent president. That led to the establishment of a coalition of Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose goal was to defeat them and restore the previous regime. In response, the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia and the UAE using advanced weapons provided by Iran, which has supported them over the years and included them in the "axis of resistance." The Houthi movement, thanks to assistance from Iran, has at its disposal an arsenal of missiles and UAVs that can attack both Israeli territory and Israeli vessels in the Red Sea and near the coast of Yemen. In ITIC assessment, the Houthi attacks on Israel were coordinated with Iran, since the Houthis are part of the "axis of resistance." Iran regards the use of pro-Iranian Shi'ite militia proxies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen as an escalation which on the one hand is an expression of the concept of "consolidating the arenas," especially in light of the Israeli ground attack, and which on the other hand
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