The Israeli Air Force had intercepted a drone launched at the Jewish state by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists, the Israeli military announced on Monday night.
“Earlier today ... the IAF intercepted a UAV launched from Yemen,” said the IDF, adding that “no sirens were sounded,” in accordance with protocol.
The drone assault came mere hours after the Houthis launched two ballistic missiles at the Jewish early on Monday morning, marking the second such attack in 24 hours.
Overnight Saturday, the IDF also intercepted a ballistic missile from Yemen, which triggered air-raid alerts across Judea and the Dead Sea area.
The Houthis have escalated their aerial attacks on Israel in support of the Gaza-based Palestinian Hamas terror organization in recent weeks, including a direct hit near Ben-Gurion International Airport on May 4.
In response, IAF fighter jets carried out a series of airstrikes overnight Sunday, targeting Houthi infrastructure in Yemen, including facilities in the ports of Al Hudaydah, Ras Isa and Salif, as well as a power plant.
According to the IDF, the operation was a direct response to the Houthis’ ongoing attacks.
“These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, which are employed to carry out terrorist operations against the State of Israel and its allies,” said the IDF.
In addition to ramping up their attacks on the Jewish state, the Houthis have also resumed missile and drone attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
On Monday, two crew members of the Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C were killed in an attack off the coast of Yemen, hours after a Houthi spokesman claimed an earlier terrorist assault on another vessel with the same flag and management.
Sunday’s Houthi-claimed attack on the MV Magic Seas bulk carrier was said to have involved gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs, as well as missiles and four unmanned surface vessels.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, an offshoot of the British Royal Navy, said on Tuesday that the Eternity C “sustained significant damage and has lost all propulsion.”
“The vessel is surrounded by small craft and is under continuous attack,” the U.K. body said in its advisory to shipping companies.
The deaths on Eternity C, the first since June 2024, bring the total number of sailors killed in Houthi attacks on Red Sea ships to six.
Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis launched missile and drone attacks on over 100 merchant ships in the Red Sea, resulting in the sinking of multiple vessels.
