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Israel deploys missile boats to Red Sea after Houthi attacks

The move follows repeated missile and drone attacks by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Israeli Navy Red Sea
The Israel Defense Forces bolstered the Red Sea area with Navy missile boats, following repeated missile and drone attacks by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, Nov. 1, 2023. Credit: IDF.

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday bolstered the country’s naval presence in the Red Sea area following repeated missile and drone attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The IDF said that missile destroyers were deployed “in accordance with the assessment of the situation, and as part of the increased defense efforts in the region.”

On Tuesday, Israel’s Arrow air-defense system intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched at the Jewish state from the “Red Sea area.”

A spokesperson for Yemen’s Ansar Allah, the official title of the Houthi movement, confirmed the terror group had launched ballistic and cruise missiles at Israel, as well as drones.

Early on Wednesday, the IDF intercepted another incoming threat near Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat.

The military has multiple layers of air defenses in the Red Sea area to defend against Houthi attacks.

On Friday, the IDF said that a fighter jet had intercepted an “aerial threat” over the Red Sea, which came hours after a drone attack on the Egyptian resort town of Taba in the Sinai Peninsula that wounded six people.

Also last week, the USS Carney, a U.S. Navy destroyer, shot down missiles and drones from Yemen that could have been aimed at Israel, the Pentagon said.

“This is our homeland,” the Israeli prime minister said. “It’s called Judea. That’s where Jews come from. We’ve been attached to it for thousands of years.”
“Anyone who attempts to pose a threat or attack Israel will face devastating consequences,” said Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the global body.
Former justice minister Alan Shatter said Herbert Park Hotel declined the conference after asking about an IDF connection, and later released delegates’ rooms.
“Whose battle is the administration fighting here? Kanye West’s? Tucker Carlson’s?” Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told JNS.