A Houthi missile attack on Israel stokes fears of renewed Red Sea
shipping strikes
[March 30, 2026]
By SAMY MAGDY
CAIRO (AP) — A missile attack on Israel by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels
in Yemen on Saturday raises concern that Tehran's proxies may again try
to block Red Sea shipping routes, as Iran's chokehold on the Strait of
Hormuz keeps another key global trade passage virtually closed.
The Houthis said they fired a barrage of missiles at “sensitive Israeli
military sites” in southern Israel, their first since the start of the
war in the Middle East a month ago. The Israeli military said it
intercepted a missile fired from Yemen.
When asked about the Houthis, Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen.
Effie Defrin replied: "We are preparing for a multifront war.”
The Houthis are a key Iranian ally
The Houthis are a crucial part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance,"
which includes militant groups in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian
territories. They control the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and much of the
country’s north, and since 2014 have fought a civil war against the
internationally recognized government that is backed by a Saudi-led
coalition.
Unlike Lebanon’s Hezbollah and militant groups in Iraq, the Houthis in
Yemen had held back for a month since the U.S. and Israel launched
attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.
Red Sea shipping attacks would further disrupt the global economy
Now that they have entered the war with a missile attack on Israel,
there are growing concerns that they could start attacking shipping in
the Red Sea. Such a move would further disrupt the maritime industry and
the global economy since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has shaken
markets and energy prices. The rebels also have the capability of
striking oil facilities in the Persian Gulf as they did previously
during the Yemen civil war.
The Houthis said they won’t allow the U.S. and Israel to use the Red Sea
for attacks on Iran. “Our fingers are on the trigger,” Brig. Gen. Yahya
Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said in a statement Friday.
The Houthi attacks on vessels would not only further push up oil prices
but destabilize “all of maritime security,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior
Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group. “The impact would not
be limited to the energy market.”
Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has been sending
millions of barrels of crude oil a day through Bab el-Mandeb, at the
southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
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Houthi supporters shout slogans during a rally against Israel and
the United States' war in Iran, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 27,
2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
The 32-kilometer (20-mile)-wide strait is one of the busiest for
global oil trade. A fourth of global container trade also transits
through the strait on its way to and from the Suez Canal. Disrupting
transit through Bab al-Madab forces shipping firms to route their
vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, as they did in 2024 and 2025,
significantly increasing costs.
About 12% of the world’s trade typically passes through Suez,
including oil, natural gas, grain and everything from toys to
electronics.
“It would be devastating for so many countries,” Nagi said. “If we
see more pressure on the Iranians, or there’s any escalation, the
Houthis will jump in harshly."
Red Sea is a critical corridor for Europe's natural gas
Such attacks will add more pressure on energy supplies for the
27-nation European Union, which relies on imported natural gas to
power factories, generate electricity and heat homes. Tankers
carrying liquefied natural gas — which is supercooled to travel by
ship instead of pipeline — routinely pass through the Red Sea.
The Houthis attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and
drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November
2023 until January 2025, and also launched projectiles at Israel.
They said their attacks were in support of Hamas during the war in
Gaza.
The U.S. and Israel responded with a punishing air campaign across
the Houthi-held areas in Yemen, which killed many people, including
most of the Houthi-allied Cabinet in Sanaa. President Donald Trump
halted U.S. strikes on the Houthis after a deal that saw the rebels
stopping their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
___
Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Beirut contributed to this
report.
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