Yemen enters war, launches ballistic missile at 'sensitive' sites in southern Israel

Sanaa reopened its war front against Israel a day after Washington and Tel Aviv significantly escalated attacks on Iran's nuclear and steel manufacturing facilities

News Desk

MAR 28, 2026

https://thecradle.co/articles/yemen-enters-war-launches-ballistic-missile-at-sensitive-sites-in-southern-israel

The Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) announced on 28 March the launch of a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting sensitive military sites in southern Israel.

Saturday's attack marked the first action by the YAF against Israel since Tel Aviv and Washington initiated a war on Iran on 28 February. Shortly afterward, the US and Israel also engaged in wars against the Resistance Axis in Lebanon and Iraq.

YAF spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated that the operation was carried out in response to Israel's crimes and massacres "against our brothers in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and Palestine."

Saree added that the operation successfully achieved its objectives and coincided with the "heroic operations" carried out by "our mujahideen brothers in Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon."

He also confirmed that Yemeni military operations will continue until the declared objectives are achieved and the aggression against all resistance fronts ceases.

The attack came one day after Sanaa urged the US and Israel to participate in international diplomatic efforts to end the war against Iran, Lebanon, and Iraq.

“[Our] fingers are on the trigger for direct military intervention,” the YAF declared on Friday, warning other countries against joining the US and Israel in their war against the Axis of Resistance, including if the Red Sea is used to carry out "hostile operations against Iran or any Muslim country."

The Yemeni forces emphasized that Saturday's ballistic missile attack stems from a religious and moral responsibility to resist the US and Israel's effort to establish "Greater Israel."

The Israeli military announced on Saturday that it had identified a missile launched from Yemen.

"The IDF has identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory; aerial defense systems are operating to intercept the threat," the Israeli military wrote via Telegram.

The YAF previously opened a war front against Israel in November 2023, launching drone and missile barrages for over a year in response to the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

Yemen also imposed a blockade on US and Israeli-linked vessels attempting to cross the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern outlet of the Red Sea.

The US and EU dispatched warships to respond, but they were forced to retreat by Yemeni missile and drone attacks.

Reuters observed earlier this week that if Yemen enters the conflict, one "obvious target" would be Bab al-Mandab, a key shipping chokepoint and narrow passageway that controls sea ​traffic towards the Suez Canal.

Targeting Bab al-Mandab could increase Iran's leverage after it has already effectively shut the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which some 20 percent of the world's oil and natural gas typically passes.