Israel and Houthis trade blows as Red Sea shipping crisis enters new phase

The nine-month long Red Sea shipping crisis entered a new, more dangerous phase over the weekend with Israel and the Houthis now in direct confrontation, carrying out long-range attacks on each other, and lending credence to the claims by the Houthis that they have the capacity to attack targets in the Mediterranean.

A Houthi drone hit Tel Aviv in Israel early on Friday morning, killing one person and injuring at least 10 others.

The Israelis retaliated over the weekend. On Saturday, in one of Israel’s longest-range operations to date, much of the port infrastructure at the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida in Yemen was destroyed.

The following day the Houthis attempted unsuccessfully to strike the Israeli port of Eilat

The Houthis have previously made threats of extending their attacks into the Mediterranean. Friday’s targeting of Tel Aviv has shown merchant shipping that this threat is now possible.