Houthis claim joint ballistic missile barrage on Israel’s Jaffa area

Sanaa: Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group on Friday claimed carrying out a joint military operation involving a "barrage of ballistic missiles" targeting Israel's Jaffa area, in what signals a widening of the ongoing regional conflict in West Asia.

In a statement released by Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree, the group said the attack was conducted in coordination with allied forces across the region, with support for the "resistance and jihad fronts in Iraq, Iran, Palestine, and Lebanon."

Saree stated that the group "carried out a military operation using a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting vital Israeli enemy targets in the occupied Yaffa area".


He further claimed that the operation was jointly executed with forces linked to Iran and the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah, adding that the strike "successfully achieved its objectives."

The Houthis indicated that their military involvement in the conflict would continue and potentially intensify depending on developments on the ground.

In the statement, the group "affirm that their military intervention in this crucial and exceptional battle is gradual and will not stop at this level", warning that future actions would be determined by what he described as "enemy escalation or de-escalation."

The statement also praised allied groups across Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Palestine, describing them as forces defending regional dignity against what it termed a "Western-Zionist scheme".

Following the launch of the "barrage of ballistic missiles", the Israel Defence Forces, in a statement on Telegram, stated that it had identified the "launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory".

"Initial report - The IDF has identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory; aerial defense systems are operating to intercept the threat. The public is requested to follow the Home Front Command's defensive guidelines," the IDF stated in the statement.

Earlier on Wednesday, the group claimed that it had executed its "third joint operation" in coordination with allied groups in Iran and Lebanon, targeting "sensitive sites" in "south of occupied Palestine".