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16-06-2025
SANA’A/ BEIRUT: Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Sunday that they targeted Israel in coordination with Iran, the first time an Iran-aligned group has publicly announced joint cooperation on attacks with Tehran.
The Yemeni group targeted central Israel’s Jaffa with several ballistic missiles in the last 24 hours, military spokesperson Yehya Sarea said in a televised address.
“Triumphing for the oppressed Palestinian and Iranian peoples…This operation was coordinated with the operations carried out by the Iranian army against the criminal Israeli enemy,” he added.
The Israeli military earlier said sirens were activated in several areas in the country following missile launches from Iran and Yemen.
Israel and Iran continued to exchange missile attacks since Israel launched its biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy on Friday.
On the same day Israel launched its attack on Iran, Israel said a missile that was launched from Yemen towards Israel fell in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The Yemeni group however did not claim responsibility for the missile launch.
The Houthis have been launching attacks against Israel, most of which have been intercepted, in what they say is support for Palestinians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war there since Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack on Israel.
Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
The US also launched intensified strikes against the Houthis this year, before President Donald Trump halted the offensive after the Houthis agreed to stop attacks on American ships.
Meanwhile, Lebanon is intensifying efforts to avert any consequences of the Israeli-Iranian war and avoid dragging the country to a new conflict under the pretext of “supporting” Iran.
Hezbollah had launched a “support front” with Gaza by launching attacks on Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’ Al-Aqsa Flood Operation that sparked the ongoing war on Palestinian enclave.
Lebanese authorities are exerting efforts to distance the country from the latest conflict under the slogan “No new support war … this is not our battle”.
Contacts are being held on the highest levels with countries with influence to avert any escalation in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel.
Internally, technical and security measures are being taken. Cutting short a trip to the Vatican, President Joseph Aoun held a meeting on Saturday morning with security leaders.
He met with concerned ministers to discuss the latest security developments as a result of the confrontation between Iran and Israel, said a presidency statement.
The meeting tackled the measures Lebanon needs to take to address the impact of the conflict and aviation at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, it added.
Several measures have been taken to maintain stability in Lebanon and secure civil aviation, it said.
Aoun urged security authorities to remain on alert to maintain stability and security. Meetings will remain open to assess the developments as they unfold, said the statement.
The meeting included Minister of Defense Michel Menassa, Minister of Interior Ahmed al-Hajjar, Minister of Transportation and Public Works Fayez Rasamny, army commander Rodolphe Haykal, Internal Security Forces chief Raed Abdallah, General Security chief Hassan Choucair and others.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched some 50 ballistic missiles and at least a dozen drones at Israel. (Int’l News Desk)
