Houthi declares war against Israel

On October 31, 2023, the Houthi rebels in Yemen officially joined the Israel-Hamas war. The Houthis are a Shia political and military organization that has been fighting a civil war in Yemen. They have held Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since 2014. The Houthis claimed to have launched an attack on southern Israel. They said they had launched a “large batch” of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones toward Israeli targets.

Israel said it thwarted the missile attack by using the Arrow system for intercepting ballistic missiles. This was the first time Israel had used the Arrow system since the war began. Yemen is a little over 900 miles south of Israel. The likely trajectory for a projectile launched from Yemen toward Israel would take it over parts of Saudi Arabia and then the Red Sea before arriving in Israel's south.