A Houthi fighter mans a machine gun mounted on a truck during a parade for people who attended Houthi military training as part of a mobilization campaign, in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Millions of Israelis scrambled for shelter overnight as Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen launched a ballistic missile at Israel, setting off air-raid sirens across the center of the country and the Jerusalem area, and was followed hours later by a Hamas rocket barrage targeting Tel Aviv on Thursday afternoon.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported intercepting the missile from Yemen before it entered Israeli airspace, while the Iron Dome intercepted a further three missiles from Hamas later on, triggering sirens throughout the metropolitan area. While there were no reported casualties, shrapnel from intercepted rockets was found in Rishon Lezion. The rocket fire came as the IDF expanded its ground operations in Gaza, warning Palestinian civilians to avoid the Netzarim Corridor, a strategic seven-kilometer road that bisects the enclave.

The United States has urged Israel not to respond directly to the Houthi missile strike, according to a Hebrew-language Ynet report citing an Israeli official. US forces already carried out airstrikes against the Houthis — who have targeted American and Israeli ships in the Red Sea and disrupted global shipping through the critical trade route — in recent days and told Israel to “allow them to handle the situation,” the report said.

Prof. Shaul Chorev, a national security and maritime expert, noted that, regardless, it would not be wise — and neither within its capabilities — for Israel to secure the Red Sea without help.

“Achieving this objective cannot be accomplished by Israel alone and will require the involvement of the international community,” Chorev, director of the Institute for Maritime Policy and Strategy in Haifa, told The Algemeiner. “The Israeli Navy lacks the capabilities to secure Israeli shipping in the southern Red Sea independently. Politically, it is also undesirable for Israel to take on the responsibility of addressing a problem that is internationally recognized, particularly since Israel is often accused of causing it due to its attacks on Gaza.”

Nevertheless, Chorev added, Israel’s “goal for ending the conflict is to ensure complete freedom of navigation to and from its waters.” 

Chorev also underscored recent US State Department decisions against the Houthis, including reinstating its foreign terrorist designation and its $15 million reward for information on its financing. Still, he said, “the impact of these actions on the Houthis’ blockade in the southern part of the Red Sea is currently unclear.”

Chorev highlighted reports suggesting that China was providing financial protection to the Houthis to ensure its own ships remain unharmed. 

The expansion of Iranian activities into the Mediterranean Sea has raised further concerns. Chorev highlighted the likelihood that Israel’s navy will need to increase its operational presence in both the Red Sea and Mediterranean, potentially requiring additional vessels to secure shipping lanes. Cooperation with the US Fifth Fleet and allied naval forces will remain crucial to maintaining stability in these waterways, he said. 

Chorev warned against unilateral action, saying, “It is not in Israel’s best interest to act unilaterally to deter the Houthis.” Instead, he urged Israel to let the US take the lead, including pressuring Iran, which “undoubtedly has influence over the Houthis, to stop the attacks on Israel.”

Meanwhile, the IDF targeted key Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist operatives. Among those eliminated was Rashid Jahjouh, head of Hamas’s General Security Apparatus, who was responsible for maintaining internal security and intelligence operations, identifying and targeting “collaborators” and spreading propaganda. Also killed was Ayman Etsilah, a senior Hamas security official in Khan Yunis, and Ismail Abd al-Aal, a high-ranking figure in Islamic Jihad’s weapons smuggling network.

The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed that these operations were part of broader efforts to dismantle the leadership and infrastructure of terrorist groups in the enclave.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad, like the Houthis, are both backed by Iran, which provides the Palestinian terrorist groups with weapons and funding.

Several other Hamas leaders have been killed since Israel resumed strikes earlier this week, including Yasser Muhammad Harb Musa, who managed Hamas’s security portfolio, and Ayssam al-Dalis, the head of Hamas’s Gaza government. Mahmoud Marzouk Ahmed Abu Watfa, responsible for Hamas’s internal security, and Ahmed Abdulla Al-hata, the group’s Minister of Justice, were also among those targeted. 

The current escalation follows the collapse of a temporary ceasefire and hostage-release deal that lasted 42 days, during which the terror group released 30 living hostages and the remains of eight slain captives, while Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners.