From: The Associated Press January 3, 2025
Houthi rebels, a faraway foe, is proving a stubborn threat for Israel.

Israel [and allies] struggles to deter escalating attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels as other fronts calm

Israel, U.S. and partner forces have launched multiple rounds of coordinated airstrikes against Houthi launch sites and weapons storage sites. But repeated fire from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a faraway foe, is proving a stubborn threat for Israel.

The rockets from Gaza have mostly fallen silent.
A ceasefire with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has taken hold.

Israel has repeatedly bombarded ports, oil infrastructure and the airport in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away. Israeli leaders have threatened to kill central Houthi figures and have tried to galvanize the world against the threat.

Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have all but shuttered an Israeli port in the city of Eilat and have prompted ships destined for it to take a longer, more costly route around Africa to Israel’s Mediterranean ports.

The Houthi strikes are also a symbolic reminder for Israel of the Iran-backed enemies that encircle it, known as the “Axis of Resistance,” and the last major holdout.

And because Israel’s counterstrikes have yet to deter the Houthis, their persistent attacks defy Israel’s image as a regional military powerhouse.

“They are the only ones who are active now,” said Danny Citrinowicz, a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank.