Everything you need to know about Israel-Yemen relations - explainer

Israel and Yemen are two countries that, at first glance, don't always have much to do with each other. Both countries are embroiled in conflicts and political issues, and it seems they rarely came up in the media in relation to each other for years.

But amid the current war, all that changed.

The Houthis, one of the ruling factions of civil war-torn Yemen, have been taking part in the assault on the Jewish state alongside Hamas and Hezbollah. This heavily armed proxy group of Iran is now effectively at war with Israel, which is in line with their motto from the start.

As a result, Israel’s history and relationship with Yemen has been thrust into the spotlight. 

Here is everything you need to know.

Where is Yemen?

Yemen is a country on the southwestern end of the Arabian Peninsula, with a long history linked both to its proximity to the cradles of civilization (Mesopotamia and Africa) as well as its strategic location.

Yemen is located right along the Bab el-Mandeb straits, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and, ultimately, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. This position has made it an extremely high-valued location throughout history, being a vital artery of maritime traffic.

Yemen is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the east. It shares close maritime borders with the Horn of African countries of Somalia, Djibouti, and Eritrea. 

Where is Israel?

Israel is a country in the Middle East, specifically in the Levant region. It is steeped in thousands of years of history and has been the home of numerous civilizations and religious faiths.

Israel is bordered by Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian territories and is on the coast of both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. 

Is Yemen in the Middle East?

Yes. Yemen’s position in the Arabian Peninsula puts it at the south center of the Middle East, and its strategic position has made it a historic crossroads in the region. 

How close is Yemen to Israel?

Yemen is around 2,200 kilometers away from Israel in its shortest possible distance, which would be flying over Saudi Arabia and Jordan. By maritime travel, that would be over 2,600 kilometers when traveling from Yemen’s major port city of Aden to the Israeli port city of Ashdod, a route that would take it through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

Why did the Houthis attack Israel?

This is a question that requires a long and complex answer. 

The country now known as Yemen was, for centuries, under the control of the Ottoman Empire. After the end of World War I and the empire’s dissolution, the Kingdom of Yemen was formed out of some Ottoman territory. The rest of what we now know as Yemen was the territory known as the Aden Protectorate, a British colonial protectorate formed following the British conquest of Aden in 1839 in an agreement hashed out with several surrounding polities ruled by different sheikhs, sultans, and emirs. 

Both entities saw a change of fate in the 1960s. In 1962, the Kingdom of Yemen suffered a major coup, transforming it into the Yemen Arab Republic, while the Aden Protectorate achieved independence and became known as the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, known as North Yemen and South Yemen, respectively. 

Both states ultimately unified into the Republic of Yemen in 1990. However, turmoil soon erupted in the wake of the Arab Spring protests in 2011. Longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh resigned in 2012, and a full-blown civil war has continued to rage in Yemen until today.

The chief parties involved in the civil war are the Republic of Yemen and the internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council, the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (which now holds several seats on the Presidential Leadership Council), and the Supreme Political Council, itself formed by and largely led by Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi movement. 

The Houthis themselves are a Shia Islamist organization made up primarily of members of the Houthi tribe. They are highly militarized and have allegedly received considerable backing from Iran, which has caused them to be considered an Iranian proxy group, while the Presidential Leadership Council is backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 

While the civil war has mostly been a domestic matter, as well as part of a larger proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Israel was uninvolved, and thus, the events in Yemen largely did not concern them. However, the Houthis have always had animosity towards Israel, as noted in their slogan: “God Is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, A Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam.” 

The Houthis did eventually take part in the attacks on Israel following October 7, including launching drones and ballistic missiles at the Jewish state. 

The stated reason for this is that it is meant to be in support of the Palestinians. However, others have posited that it is due to the Houthis’ existing animosity towards the Jewish state, as well as due to being part of Iran’s axis and as part of the ongoing conflict between Tehran and Jerusalem.

The most significant Houthi attack against Israel was a drone strike that managed to hit Tel Aviv on July 19, which killed one man and wounded several others.

How did Israel respond to the Houthi attack?

Just a day later, Israel carried out a retaliatory strike on Yemen, specifically striking targets at the port of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold. 

The attack, known as Operation Outstretched Arm, managed to strike an oil refinery as well as power generating and fuel storage facilities.

Tensions remain high between the Houthis and Israel, especially amid the ongoing war with Hamas and the threat of massive retaliation from Iran and its proxies following the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.