Briefing under the “Threats to International Peace and Security” Agenda Item on Developments related to the Houthi Drone Attack on Israel
This afternoon (22 July), the Security Council will hold an open briefing under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item. The P3 members (France, the UK, and the US) requested the meeting on Friday (19 July), soon after a drone attack targeting the city of Tel Aviv, Israel, claimed by the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. On Saturday (20 July), Israel carried out a retaliatory attack in Yemen, targeting the area of Hodeidah Port. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo and Head of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) Major General Michael Beary are expected to brief at this afternoon’s meeting. Israel is expected to participate under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
On Friday morning, a drone attack hit a residential building in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial centre, killing one civilian and injuring at least ten others, according to Israeli authorities. Although the strike occurred close to the US Embassy branch office in the city, US officials reportedly estimate that the attack had not specifically targeted the diplomatic premises. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, with Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sare’e saying in a 19 July statement that it was carried out in response to Israel’s increasing attacks against the people of the Gaza Strip.
Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, the rebel group has been targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea and has attempted several attacks on southern Israel, including the port city of Eilat. The 19 July strike was the first to reach the central city of Tel Aviv. The Houthis have threatened to continue attacks until Israel ends its military campaign in Gaza, that followed the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks against Israel. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said that dozens of drones had been launched at Israel from Yemen since October 2023, the majority of which had been intercepted by Israeli or US forces. He claimed that the 19 July strike involved an Iranian model of a Samad-3 uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) that had been adapted for long-distance flights. Sare’e, however, maintained in his statement that the strike involved a new Yemen-made drone called “Jaffa” which is undetectable by radars.
Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the 19 July Houthi attack, expressed concern about “the risk such dangerous acts pose for further escalation in the region”, and urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to de-escalate the situation.
The P3 requested this afternoon’s meeting after Israel sent a 19 July letter requesting the Security Council to hold an “urgent briefing focused on the Houthis destabilizing activity in the Middle East”. The letter called on the Council to condemn the Houthi attack against Israel and to take immediate action, including through the imposition of sanctions, in order to avoid further escalation of the situation in the region. It also accused Iran of actively supporting the Houthis’ armed actions, including through the provision of weapons, and called on the Security Council to condemn Iran for such acts.
On 20 July, Israel carried out a retaliatory attack in the area of Hodeidah Port, killing at least six people and injuring more than 80 others, according to the Houthis. This marked the first direct, publicly acknowledged Israeli strike inside Yemeni territory. Israel claimed that it had struck sites used for military purposes, with Hagari reportedly saying that Iran has been using Hodeidah Port to supply weapons to the Houthis. In a 20 July statement, Sare’e maintained that the bombing struck civilian targets, including a power station that supplies the city of Hodeidah with electricity as well as fuel tanks. He further said that the Houthis will continue to conduct operations against Israel, including against “vital targets”.
In a 21 July statement, Guterres expressed deep concern over Israel’s 20 July strikes in Yemen, calling for all parties involved in the conflict to “exercise utmost restraint”. The statement noted that the Israeli strikes hit electricity infrastructure and a refinery, creating a large fire.
At today’s meeting, the briefers and Council members are similarly expected to express concern about the risk of further escalation in the region and call for restraint. There are likely to be differences of tone among Council members in addressing the 19 July Houthi drone attack and the 20 July Israeli response. Members more closely aligned with Israel, including the P3, are likely to condemn the 19 July attack, while expressing concern about the 20 July retaliatory attack. Some of these members may also voice alarm about the transfer of weapons to the Houthis, including by Iran. In a recent related development, media reports on 19 July quoted US intelligence agencies as warning that Russia might provide the Houthis with advanced anti-ship missiles in response to a recent authorisation by the US allowing Ukraine to use US-provided rockets and artillery to conduct limited strikes inside Russia.
Other Council members, including Russia, may be more reluctant to condemn the Houthis. These members may criticise previous retaliatory strikes in Yemen conducted by the US and the UK in response to Houthi attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea. They are also likely to stress that ending the conflict in Gaza is critical for resolving the crisis in the Red Sea and preventing further regional escalation.
Many Council members are likely to be interested in learning more from the briefers about the possible humanitarian consequences of the Israeli airstrikes. There may be expressions of concern about possible effects on food security, since the majority of Yemen’s imports traditionally enter through Hodeidah and up to 85 percent of Yemen’s food supply is provided through commercial imports.
The Council is scheduled to hold its regular monthly meeting on Yemen tomorrow (23 July). Several Council members appear keen to separate discussions on the regional spillover from the Israel-Hamas war, which are often contentious, from deliberation on the Yemen file, including on issues such as the UN-led roadmap for an inter-Yemeni political process, which enjoy relative Council consensus. (For more information on Council dynamics on the file, see the brief on Yemen in our July 2024 Monthly Forecast.)