Houthis Tease 'New Weapons' to Keep Planes Out of Israel's Skies

Newsweek

05-05-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A source within Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, widely known as the Houthis, has told Newsweek the group possesses new weapons capable of enforcing a newly announced "aerial siege" against Israel, whose military said it's on high alert to thwart all emerging threats to the nation's skies following a weekend attack on its busiest airport.
"Yes, there are new weapons indeed," the Ansar Allah source told Newsweek. "Currently, we cannot reveal the type of weapons that we will use to implement this air embargo, but they will be effective, God willing."
The comments came a day after a missile fired by Ansar Allah managed to evade Israeli air defenses to strike near Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday, halting flights for more than a half an hour. Ben Gurion is Israel's main international airport, sitting about 12 miles outside Tel Aviv.
The missile was not immediately identified by the group but was said to be "hypersonic"—capable of traveling at five times the speed of sound—and followed previous operations using what the group refers to as the "Palestine 2 hypersonic missile" to target Israel amid its ongoing war with the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli emergency services clear a road outside Israel's Ben Gurion Interational Airport after a missile reportedly launched from Yemen struck near the facility on May 4, 2025.
Israeli emergency services clear a road outside Israel's Ben Gurion Interational Airport after a missile reportedly launched from Yemen struck near the facility on May 4, 2025.
JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images
The campaign is part of an "aerial blockade" announced by Ansar Allah on Sunday, adding to an existing "naval blockade" that has resulted in the group conducting hundreds of strikes against commercial and military vessels since Hamas' October 7, 2023, surprise attack that sparked the conflict in Gaza.
"This option has been studied and prepared for for a long time and was not a hasty or ill-considered option," the source said. "You remember that when the naval blockade was first imposed, some doubted our ability to do so, but in the end, no one was able to lift the blockade."
"We are now seriously warning airlines against violating the Yemeni decision because we will not bear responsibility for their safety after these warnings," the source added. "The solutions are available, and they include stopping the aggression on Gaza and lifting the blockade."
At the same time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has affirmed its preparedness to defend against such operations on all fronts.
"The IDF maintains full readiness for any scenario — at sea, on land, and in the air," an IDF spokesperson told Newsweek. "The Israeli Air Force is prepared for any mission it may be required to carry out and remains in a high state of operational readiness for any potential development."
Ansar Allah's Capabilities
Ansar Allah had already demonstrated its prowess in using missiles and drones throughout a civil war that has pitted the group against Yemen's internationally recognized government that has been backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates since 2015. The group has expanded upon these capabilities since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in 2023.
Yemenis brandish weapons, mock drones and chant slogans during a mass protest against U.S. airstrikes, which have reportedly killed civilians, and in solidarity with people in the Gaza Strip on May 2, 2025 in Sanaa,...
Yemenis brandish weapons, mock drones and chant slogans during a mass protest against U.S. airstrikes, which have reportedly killed civilians, and in solidarity with people in the Gaza Strip on May 2, 2025 in Sanaa, Yemen. MoreAs a faction of the Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance coalition that intervened in support of Hamas, Ansar Allah stands accused by Israel, the United States and others of receiving direct military support from Tehran, something both sides deny.
Still, much of Ansar Allah's arsenal resembles Iranian platforms, including the Aqeel and Failaq surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, both of which appear to be based on Iran's Qiam model, and the Toufan, similar to Iran's Ghadr line. The Palestine 2 appears to be a significantly modified variant of the Iranian Fateh-110, allowing it to travel more than 1,300 miles to achieve some of the group's longest-range strikes to date against Israel.
Ansar Allah also a possesses a wide range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including loitering munitions, also known as suicide drones. These include the Samad family of drones and the Waid, which bears similarities to Iran's Shahed-136, variants of which have also been employed by Russia in its ongoing war with Ukraine.
At sea, Ansar Allah has also pioneered in the use of unmanned naval drones as well as anti-ship cruise missiles, which appear to be based on older Chinese, Soviet and Iranian platforms. The U.S. State Department said in March that Ansar Allah had attacked commercial vessels 145 times and U.S. Navy ships 174 times using various means. The Pentagon has not reported any damage to its warships.
However, the U.S. has acknowledged the loss of aerial platforms in the midst of a campaign intensified by President Donald Trump in March against Ansar Allah. The group announced the downing of at least 17 of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones since the war in Gaza began and took responsibility for the loss of a $60 million F/A-18 fighter jet, which fell off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea amid a confrontation last week.
F/A-18E Super Hornet airplanes preparing to launch from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75), Mediterranean Sea, May 13, 2018.
F/A-18E Super Hornet airplanes preparing to launch from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75), Mediterranean Sea, May 13, 2018.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
U.S. officials have said their forces have struck more than 800 sites related to Ansar Allah since mid-March alone, causing substantial damage to the group's military infrastructure and killing key leaders. Ansar Allah, which is known to possess hardened underground tunnel networks to store its arsenal, has disputed these claims, claiming only civilians have been slain by U.S. strikes.
With U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) now tasked with dealing with potential threats to both military and civilian air traffic, a senior U.S. defense official told Newsweek that "CENTCOM continues to support Israel and its right to self-defense."
Eyes on Iran
The IDF has also struck Ansar Allah targets several times throughout the conflict, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to pursue "very strong retaliatory action" in response to the latest attack at Ben Gurion, according to a readout of his meeting with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
The Israeli premier also took aim directly at Iran, echoing Trump's earlier warnings that the Islamic Republic could face direct attacks as a result of its ally's actions. Sharing a screenshot of Trump's threat to Iran over Ansar Allah's campaign in March, Netanyahu called the U.S. leader "absolutely right" in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
"Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran," Netanyahu wrote. "Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters."
Also on Sunday, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh responded to a similar threat issued Wednesday by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who doubled down on claims of Iran's "LETHAL support to The Houthis" and warned Tehran "will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing."
"If war is initiated by the U.S. or Israel, Iran will strike their interests, bases and forces wherever they are and whenever necessary," Nasirzadeh said, as aired by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
The comments came alongside the revelation of a new and improved Iranian solid-fueled ballistic missile known as Qassem Basir.
"We have no hostility toward neighboring countries and seek brotherly relations," Nasirzadeh said, "but in the event of an attack, U.S. bases in the region will be considered legitimate targets."
Newsweek has reached out to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations for comment.
Diplomacy Disrupted
The rising tensions played out as Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Haman al-Busaidi announced Thursday that the U.S. and Iran had jointly decided to postpone a fourth round of nuclear talks set to be held Saturday due to "logistical reasons."
While neither side has tied the delay to the U.S. and Israel's exchange of threats with Iran over Ansar Allah's attacks, the development marks the first time discussions regarding Iran's nuclear program have been pushed back since the first talks held in Oman on April 12.
This combo of pictures show President Donald Trump, left, addressing a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025, and a handout of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attending a ceremony...
This combo of pictures show President Donald Trump, left, addressing a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025, and a handout of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attending a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2025. More
AP Photo/Ben Curtis - Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/AP
Meanwhile, efforts to revive a ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas in January and scrapped by Israel in March have also faltered. A number of media outlets, including CNN, NBC News, ABC News and The Washington Post, have reported that Israel's cabinet intends to expand the war in Gaza with the goal of achieving lasting control over the entirety of the Palestinian territory, citing unnamed sources familiar with the plan.
Those developments are said to have taken place shortly after Ansar Allah's missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport, with the group promising to press forward with further attacks until Israel halted operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
"Beloved, free and independent Yemen will not accept the continuation of the state of violation that the enemy is trying to impose by targeting Arab countries such as Lebanon and Syria," Ansar Allah military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said Sunday. "It affirms that this nation will not fear confrontation and will reject submission and subservience."