Yemen, Is Israel’s Emerging Front?

The October 7 terrorist attack against Israel by Hamas provoked a response coordinated by Iran proxies across the Middle East: from Hezbollah in Lebanon to Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria and the Houthis in Yemen, all joining the offense. At the same time, however, Yemen has grown from a nuisance the Israelis once dismissed to a large battlefield—the seventh front—in their conflict with Israel. The threats presented by the Houthis are now escalating to the level where they do call for direct and focused attention from Israel as part of its larger effort to counter the Iranian grand strategy now destabilizing the region.

What was initially a second-order concern has evolved into an urgent issue for Israel and regional stability through the Houthi’s actions alone. The attacks on Israeli ships in the Red Sea and missile launches toward Israel have disrupted shipping routes, forcing the closure of Israel’s Eilat Port and causing significant economic harm. The economic blow extends to Egypt, where disruptions in the Red Sea traffic threaten the Suez Canal, a vital source of revenue for Cairo, which could destabilize President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s regime.

The strategic ambitions of the Houthis are not restricted to Israel and Egypt; the hostile acts against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan also fall within their broad strategy intending to compete against the governments of the Arabs, the West, and Israel and individualistically claim support for the Palestinian cause for regional influence.

The Houthis originally came from Yemen’s Zaidi Shiite minority, which constitutes about 30% of the population. Like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis have made their minority status work in a way that allows them—with Iran’s help—to punch above their weight. After exploiting Yemen’s tumult during the Arab Spring, the Houthis conquered northern Yemen and expanded into an army of formidable power. Today, their armament reportedly even includes advanced missiles and drones thanks to Iran.

The truth is that for the Houthis, there is little real importance surrounding the Palestinian cause; only as a means to help them appeal to Sunni populations in the Arab world. Their goals—also among others—include countering regional foes, the West, and Israel while supporting antisemitic discourses worldwide.

The United States has vowed to combat the menace posed by the Houthis yet has resisted major military actions, relying on sporadic ineffective strikes. Israel has occasionally conducted strikes on Houthi infrastructure, but such acts do little in deterring future aggression either. All this leaves the nearly nonexistent electrical grid and long-deteriorated infrastructure throughout Yemen to simply make the Houthi operations virtually unaffected.

The current course of action, with responses that are weak and sporadic, has emboldened the Houthis. A more determined course of action will be required to counter this threat.

A multi-dimensional military and political strategy is needed to counter the Houthi threat. Israel and its allies must ratchet up the military pressure on the Houthis while building a regional coalition aimed at dismantling the regime. It could include Yemen’s southern government-in-opposition to the Houthis, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf states that are keen to eliminate an Iranian proxy from their neighborhood. The United States should lead this effort, with support from Israel and regional partners, to reclaim northern Yemen and eradicate the Houthi regime entirely. Piecemeal strikes will not suffice; the Houthis must be decisively defeated, and their rule dismantled.

They have transformed from a peripheral threat to the main axis of Iran’s destabilization strategy in the region. Their actions put at risk not only Israel but also key global trade routes and stability within the region. Such a challenge will be resolved through a strong and concerted effort toward the neutralizing of the Houthi regime to restore order in Yemen. In so doing, Israel and its allies can deliver a serious blow to Iran’s network of proxies, enhancing regional security and restoring deterrence.