Houthi's Fire Missile at Israel in First Attack Since U.S. Ceasefire

Yemen’s Ansar-Allah movement, widely referred to in the West as the Houthis, launched a ballistic missile at Israel on Friday. The strike marks the group’s first attack since the United States abruptly ended its bombing campaign in Yemen earlier this week.

According to Israeli officials, the missile was intercepted by the country’s air defense system. The launch came shortly after U.S. officials suggested that Washington would not intervene militarily in response to future Ansar-Allah attacks on Israel or its shipping interests, following Tuesday’s cessation of hostilities.

Israeli leadership was reportedly caught off guard when President Donald Trump announced the end of the two-month-long U.S. air campaign. The decision, revealed publicly without prior coordination, surprised Israeli officials, who learned of the change at the same time as the general public.

While President Trump described the move as a “capitulation” by Ansar-Allah, subsequent reports indicate that the deal was effectively a U.S. withdrawal from direct involvement in the conflict. The agreement appears to apply solely to attacks on U.S. military and commercial vessels, with no provisions regarding strikes on Israeli targets.

Following the announcement, Sana’a confirmed that it would maintain its naval and aerial blockade of Israel and continue launching attacks in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

In a forthcoming interview with Israeli media, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee stated that the U.S. would only re-engage militarily “if it became our immediate business,” though he did not define what would trigger such a response. He noted that approximately 700,000 Israeli citizens also hold U.S. citizenship.

Huckabee’s comments come amid reports of a widening rift between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly canceled an upcoming visit to Israel, and Trump, who is scheduled to tour the Middle East next week, has confirmed that he will not stop in Israel.

Israel has pledged to confront Ansar-Allah alone. On Friday, Israeli media highlighted a significant concern: the U.S.-supplied and -operated THAAD missile defense system reportedly failed to intercept the missile, echoing a similar failure last Sunday when Yemeni forces struck Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

Friday’s missile was reportedly intercepted by Israel’s domestically developed Arrow-3 system.