How Yemen's Houthis co-ordinated Tel Aviv strike with regional allies

Rebel group's leader warns of further escalation unless Israel stops war in Gaza

Oil depots burning after Israel's air strike on Houthi military targets in Hodeidah on July 21. Photo: Maxar Technologies / Reuters

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Funerals were held in Hodeidah on Monday and residents rushed to buy groceries amid fears of food shortages and more Israeli strikes on Yemen after the Houthis attacked Tel Aviv.

Yemen's crucial western city remains in shock. As does Israel.

Friday's Houthi attack was the longest-range strike in the conflict so far. Israeli assessment was that the drone travelled 2,600km to its target. Israel retaliated by targeting the port of Hodeidah, the main entry point for aid to Yemen. It was one of its longest aerial missions to date, a 3,600km round trip with an unknown amount of time spent over Yemen, the impoverished country ravaged by a decade-long civil war.

The rebels’ drone that hit Tel Aviv marked an unprecedented attack on Israel. It struck a diplomatic neighbourhood housing the US embassy, killing one and injuring several. While experts initially deemed it a “lucky” strike among many that failed to reach their targets, sources revealed on Monday that the attack was calculated and co-ordinated with regional allies.

Much like Hezbollah in Lebanon and other armed groups in Syria and Iraq, the Houthis are part of the Axis of Resistance, an anti-Israel political and military coalition in the Middle East led by Tehran. Since the war in Gaza started in October, the axis has operated through a daily co-ordination process and under joint command, mainly focused on picking up targets and the timing of attacks against Israel in support of Hamas in the Palestinian territory.

“Several fronts have risen to support Gaza. The co-ordination is a strength factor as these fronts complement each other to pressure Israel to stop its aggression and lift its siege on Gaza,” a Yemeni source told The National.

“This strike on Tel Aviv was no different. It was well co-ordinated: the target, the timing and the weapon. It was a combined regional decision,” explained the source. The goal was to declare “the opening of a new phase of escalation in response to Israeli massacres”.

A Houthi soldier patrols a mountain overlooking the outskirts of Sanaa. EPA

Another source close to armed factions in the region confirmed that the strike was communicated to other groups.

The source said the attempt to hit Tel Aviv with a new advanced drone was linked to “Israel’s escalation by targeting safe areas in Gaza, homes of civilians in the heart of Lebanese villages and the recent killing of Hezbollah commanders”.

It also came to push for “a more efficient US movement to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and for the US to put more pressure to stop the Israeli war”.

“The Tel Aviv strike is the harshest warning from the axis of armed groups against Israel so far,” added the source.

Made in Yemen

Houthi rebels form a heavily armed militia that controls Yemen's capital Sanaa and other regions in the north and west. It has bolstered its fighting capabilities since the civil war started in the country in 2014, posing a serious threat to its neighbours and maritime shipping lanes.

Up until the end of 2018, the Houthis frequently used ballistic missiles they captured from army depots. But in the past five years, they have shifted to small, long-range, explosive unmanned aircraft that can evade radar detection.

Most of the group's weapons had been based on Iranian designs or entirely Iranian in origin, renamed in Houthi service. However, the Houthis have now reportedly become self-sufficient in developing their armoury and no longer require significant help from Tehran.

On Sunday evening, the group’s leader Abdulmalik Al Houthi, revealed Palestinian factions were informed of the “new drone” that hit Tel Aviv, and that its name, Yafa, was chosen by Palestinians.

“It was made in Yemen and launched by Yemenis,” he said in a speech.

The militant leader added that his group “will keep escalating as long as the Israeli enemy escalates”. He also hailed the “strong co-ordination between us and the brothers on all fronts”, adding that “whoever describes our stance as merely an Iranian stance is an agent of Israel”.

Since the outbreak of Israel's war in Gaza, the Yemeni rebels launched dozens of attacks on international shipping in the strategic waters off Yemen.

In April, Yemeni political sources told The National that the rebels had dismissed incentives proposed by the US to curb their attacks in the Red Sea, which included lifting the blockade on Sanaa and Hodeidah port, as well as hastening peace talks.

A Hamas official on Monday said US envoys were also sent to Lebanon recently to “separate the Lebanese front” from supporting Gaza. “They failed,” he added.

Meanwhile, two days after the Israeli strike, smoke continues to rise from the port of Hodeidah, covering the sky with a grey haze. Petrol stations are shutting down, making movement and access to resources difficult and slow.

Residents report that the Houthis are monitoring the situation closely to prevent queues and any potential problems. As they prepare for further hardship, the rebels, seeking a broader regional influence to strengthen their position in Yemeni peace negotiations, look determined to escalate the conflict.

“We are happy that the battle today is directly between the Israeli enemy and us”, said Mr Al Houthi in his speech, referring to strikes previously carried out by the US and the UK on Houthi positions in the country witnessing one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises.

The source close to armed factions in the region said the aim is now to “keep reminding the Israelis that they aren’t safe” as long as the war in Gaza continues.

“Hitting Tel Aviv from Yemen, with a drone journey requiring about 12 hours of flight, is a psychological blow to Israeli security, to the most vital area in Israel in terms of population, economy and security concentration. It serves as a reminder to the Israelis they are not safe from the sparks and fragments of war,” said the source.

Fries burn at Hodeidah port on Monday, two days after Israeli air strikes