Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it carried out a second missile-and-drone strike on Israel within 24 hours, vowing to continue operations in the coming days, the group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement. The attacks mark a further escalation that has increased tensions across the region.
The Houthis’ ability to strike far beyond Yemen and to threaten shipping lanes in the Red Sea and around the Arabian Peninsula has heightened concern among analysts and governments. Those tactics were used by the group in support of Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attacks, and could again disrupt commercial traffic. “If the Houthis increase attacks on commercial shipping, it would further push up oil prices and destabilize all of maritime security,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group. “The impact would not be limited to the energy market.”
Israel and the United States said they were coordinating their response. Israeli military spokesperson Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters Israel and the US were “working in very close coordination” after Houthi-launched missiles headed toward Israeli targets. He declined to disclose operational details but said Israel had become accustomed to confronting repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks over more than two years. He also cautioned that recent comments about nearing completion of high-priority strikes did not mean Israel was running out of targets.
The widening confrontation has prompted a reinforcement of forces in the region. About 2,500 US Marines have arrived, and the US has reported striking large numbers of Iranian-linked targets in the conflict. Iran has fired missiles toward Israel and air defenses across Gulf countries have intercepted missiles and drones, with witnesses in Tehran reporting heavy strikes on facilities there. Israeli forces said they targeted Iranian naval weapons production sites and expected to complete strikes on key weapons-production locations within “a few days.”
On the diplomatic front, Pakistan said Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt would send senior diplomats to Islamabad for talks aimed at ending the fighting, scheduled for a two-day visit beginning Sunday. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had held “extensive discussions” with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Turkish counterpart by phone that Tehran remained skeptical about recent diplomatic initiatives.
Oman reported that no group had claimed responsibility for attacks on its territory and said authorities were investigating the “sources and motives.” Omani officials said a worker was injured in a drone strike on Salalah port; shipping company Maersk temporarily halted operations at the port following the incident.
Violence has also continued along Israel’s northern front. The Israeli military reported one soldier killed during combat in southern Lebanon and said nine soldiers were injured in two separate incidents there, including two officers who suffered serious wounds after anti-tank missile and rocket fire.
Separately, reporting has indicated the Pentagon is preparing plans that could involve weeks of ground operations in Iran, potentially including Special Operations raids and conventional infantry deployments. Whether such plans would receive presidential approval remains uncertain, according to the report.
As the conflict spreads across multiple fronts—sea, air and land—regional and global actors are watching for whether diplomatic efforts can contain further escalation and prevent long-term disruption to shipping, energy markets and regional stability.
