Houthis

The Houthi movement, officially the Ansar Allah, is a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi, one of the three main branches of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali’s unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely from the Houthi tribe. The group has been a central player in Yemen’s civil war, drawing widespread international condemnation for its human rights abuses, including targeting civilians and using child soldiers.

Under Zaydi religious leader Hussein al-Houthi, the Houthis emerged as an opposition movement to Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whom they accused of corruption and being backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States. In 2003, influenced by Hezbollah, the Houthis adopted their official slogan against the United States, Israel, and the Jews. Al-Houthi resisted Saleh’s order for his arrest, and was afterwards killed by the Yemeni military in Saada in 2004, sparking the Houthi insurgency. Since then, the movement has been mostly led by his brother Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

Following the outbreak of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, the Houthis began to fire missiles at Israel and to attack ships off Yemen’s coast in the Red Sea, which they say is in solidarity with the Palestinians and aiming to facilitate entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. On 31 October Houthi forces launched ballistic missiles at Israel, which were shot down by Israel’s Arrow missile defense system. Israeli officials claimed this was the first ever combat in space. In order to end the attacks in the Red Sea, the Houthis demanded a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. In January 2024, the United States and the United Kingdom conducted airstrikes against multiple Houthi targets in Yemen.

Official Actions and Significant Occurrences - With Documentation

2025
May 16
Israel Again Responds to Houthi Missile Attacks
May 6
Ceasefire Announced Between the United States and the Houthis

Donald Trump announced that the United States would stop attacks on the Houthis, and in return, the Houthis would stop targeting maritime shipping. Houthi officials claimed that their ceasefire with the United States did not include Israel.

May 6
Israel Responds to Houthi Attack on Ben Gurion Airport

Israel jets targeted Sanaa airport, power stations, and a cement factory, two days after a missile fired by the Iran-backed group hit Ben Gurion Airport.

May 4
Houthi Missile Strikes Ben Gurion Airport

What the Houthis claimed was a hypersonic ballistic missile fired by the rebels struck near Terminal 3 of Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv. Despite the presence of Israeli and U.S. air defense systems (Arrow and THAAD), the missile was not intercepted. The impact injured eight individuals and caused temporary disruption to airport operations.

March 18
Houthis Resume Missile Attacks Against Israel

Houthis renewed its attacks against Israel, launching a ballistic missile aimed at the Nevatim Air Base in central Israel and calling it a reponse to Israel’s resumed military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

March 15
United States Begins Major Military Campaign Against the Houthis
2024
December 30
Security Council Discusses Israel-Houthi Conflict

The Security Council considered the new attacks by the Houthis on Israel and Israel’s reponse.

December 26
Israel Carries Out Another Air Assault Against The Houthis

Following the 19 December attack, the Houthis launched several additional assaults at Israel that were intercepted, Israel conducted another significant air assault against Yemen, targeting the Sana’a International Airport and two power stations. The World Health Organization  Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus and UN Resident Coordinator in Yemen Julien Harneis and more than a dozen other UN personnel were at the Sana’a airport during the attack but were unharmed.

December 19
Israel’s Third Attack Against the Houthis in Yemen

December saw the intensification of direct conflict between Israel and the Houthis who launched more than ten attacks against Israel involving ballistic missiles and drones, three of which hit civilian areas.  In response Israel carried out airstrikes in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, reportedly targeting Houthi infrastructure at the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea as well as Houthi energy infrastructure in the city of Sana’a.

November 13
Security Council Again Renews Sanctions Concerning Yemen

The Security Council renewed for 12 months the travel ban and assets freeze imposed on certain designated individuals and entities in Yemen, and extended for 13 months the mandate of the Panel of Experts tasked with assisting the Council’s Yemen Sanctions Committee.

September 29
Israel Again Attacks the Houthis in Yemen

Israel, in response to drone and missile fire from the Houthis, for a second time conducted attacks against the Houthis in Yemen, bombing the ports of Al Hudaydah and Ras Isa, using dozens of aircraft. The attacks caused widespread power outages in the city of Hodeida and significant damage to Yemeni port facilities and power generating stations.

July 22
Security Council Considers Houthi Attack on Tel Aviv

The Security Council took up discussion of the Houthis’ 19 July attack on Tel Aviv and Israel’s 20 July retaliation against the port of Hudaydah in Yemen in light of the concern to avoid regional escalation.

July 20
Israel attacks the Houthis in Yemen

On 19 July, a drone launched by Houthi militants from Yemen hit an apartment building near the US Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv. The drone strike killed one person in his apartment, and injured 10 others. In response, Israel launched airstrikes on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Yemen. The attack damaged a power generating station, an oil refinery, fuel storage facilities belonging to the Yemen Petroleum Corporation, and port cranes.

June 27
Security Council Demands Houthis Immediately Cease Attacking Sea Vessels

The Security Council adopted an updated resolution condemning continued attacks on merchant and commercial vessels from Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen, and demanded that the Houthis immediately cease all such aggression.

April 15
The Security Council Discusses Yemen and Gaza

Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen warns the Security Council that, “In the absence of a ceasefire in Gaza and a complete termination of attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the threat of further escalation persists”. 

January 12
US and UK Strike Houthis in Yemen

The US and UK launched military strikes against Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in response to continued attacks by the Houthis, after the US and its allies warned that the Iran-backed militant group would bear the consequences of its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

2023
December 18
Red Sea Task Force Formed to Address Houthi Attacks

The US Defense Secretary announced the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational security initiative to address the security situation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain joined the US in the new mission; and several other countries agreed to be involved in the operation but preferred not to be publicly named.

November 14
Security Council Renews Sanctions on Yemen

The Security Council renewed a travel ban and assets freeze imposed on specific individuals and entities in Yemen for 12 months, and extended for 12 months the mandate of the Panel of Experts tasked with assisting the Council’s Yemen sanctions committee.

October 29
Houthis in Yemen Signal Entry into the Gaza Conflict

Formal designation of  the Houthis as a terrorist organization:
[There may be other designations which we have not been able to verify]

UN Security Council consideration of the Houthis, internally, and in relation to the Red Sea, Israel, and the region as a whole – since 7 Oct 2023.

 

Further Information