Houthis emerge as long term threat to Israel

https://nytimes.com/world/middleeast/iran-israel-houthis

The Houthis, Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen who have launched recent drone and missile attacks on Israeli and American targets, are emerging as an unpredictable and dangerous wild card in the Middle East — the proxies that Iran considers most suited to widening the war with Israel.

Analysts close to the Iranian government said the Houthis’ base in Yemen makes them ideally positioned to escalate fighting in the region, in the hopes of pressuring Israel to end its war with Hamas in Gaza.

“We think Houthis in Yemen will become more of a threat to Israel in the long term than Hamas or even Hezbollah,” said Nasser Imani, a political analyst in Tehran who is close to the government. “Iran considers them a major player and part of the collective strategy of the resistance axis.”

Current and former U.S. military commanders said Israel’s air defenses were sophisticated enough to knock down missiles and drones launched at Israel, but the threat to international waters was a bigger challenge.