For Israel’s automated air defence systems, intercepting missiles launched by the Houthis, the rebel group controlling much of Yemen, has become a matter of course. More than 70 have reached Israeli skies since mid-March. Most are stopped well before landing. On Friday evening, however, one landed after detectors falsely interpreted it to be disintegrating on its own. It was, in fact, a cluster munition that broke up into several bomblets. This was the first time, experts say, that the Houthis had ever used that technology to attack Israel.
Cluster bombs are designed to inflict maximum damage, which is why they are banned by more than 100 countries (a list that notably excludes Israel). The Houthis' use of one shows the group's constant game of cat and mouse with Israel's air defences is forcing it to innovate. In the end, it did not work; only one of the missile’s submunitions is believed to have detonated on impact, in the back garden of an 85-year-old woman who emerged from her home unscathed.
Maximum damage was suffered instead by Yemenis, when a retaliatory Israeli air strike on the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday killed at least six people and injured 86 more.
The Houthis say they attack Israel in defence of Gaza, where the Israeli military is prosecuting a brutal war that has killed tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians. Missiles from Yemen have indeed posed a major headache for Israelis, whose economy has suffered as a result and whose citizens’ daily lives have been frequently interrupted by warning sirens. But for the 25 million Yemenis who live under Houthi administration, every Houthi victory has been a pyrrhic one. Israel’s revenge campaigns have killed Yemenis in the hundreds. And they have not deterred Israel from its war on Palestine.
The harsh reality of life under the Houthis gives the lie to the rebels’ moralising about Gaza. The group invests constantly in its war machine, while doing little to improve Yemenis’ lives. Houthi rule is both corrupt and deeply oppressive; spreading extremism is a greater priority than delivering basic services. Most Yemenis would rather see their country prosper than become embroiled in further conflict, but their opinions appear not to matter to their rulers.
In Israel, too, the chasm between what ordinary citizens want and the political goals of their decision-makers is wide. Polling consistently shows a majority of Israelis want the Gaza war to end. Instead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Cabinet are leading the country further into an abyss. The bombing of Yemen's capital coincided with Israeli fighter jets pounding Gaza City in preparation for a ground assault. The plan, Israeli ministers have said, is to occupy Gaza City, raising fears of a long-term Israeli military presence there.
Unless Mr Netanyahu changes course, for Israel that means many more months of inbound missiles and warning sirens. For Palestinians and Yemenis, it means even more death and destruction.
