In a significant escalation of tensions in the Middle East, Yemen’s Houthi militia has declared war on Israel and launched a series of ballistic missiles and drones toward Israeli territory. The Iran-backed group announced on Tuesday that it had dispatched a “large batch” of ballistic and cruise missiles, along with drones, targeting locations in southern Israel. On November 1, 2023, Yemen Houthis published footage of their ballistic missile, drone, and cruise missile launches towards Israel from Yemen.
The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, stated on the social media platform X on October 31, 2023, that this aggressive move was in retaliation to the ground operation initiated by the Israeli army in Gaza.
In response, the Israeli military reported that its aerial defense system successfully intercepted a surface-to-surface missile fired toward Israel from the vicinity of the Red Sea. Additionally, the defense system neutralized other “aerial threats” in the region, ensuring that none breached Israeli territory.
The Republic of Yemen armed forces are equipped with different types of SRBMs (Short-Range Ballistic Missile) coming from China, North Korea, Russia and Iran including Russian 9K72 Elbrus (RS-SS-1C Scud-B), North Korea Hwasong-5 (RS-SS-1C Scud-B, Hwasong-6 (RS-SS-1D Scud-C), and Iranian Borkan-1 (extended-range Scud derivative), Borkan-2H (Qiam-1), Qaher-1 (converted S-75 SAM) as well as Ground Launched Cruise Missiles Quds-1 and Quds-2.