Briefing on Developments related to Houthi Attacks on Israel
Tomorrow morning (30 December), the Security Council will hold an open briefing under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item. The meeting was scheduled after Israel requested an urgent Security Council meeting in a 24 December letter to the Council referencing several recent attacks by the Houthi rebel group in Yemen against Israel. Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari is expected to brief. A civil society representative is also expected to brief. Israel is expected to participate under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
Since October 2023, the Houthis have been carrying out attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and launching attacks against Israel. They have threatened to continue these attacks until Israel ends its military campaign in Gaza that followed the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks against Israel. The Israeli military has said that the Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones at Israel over the last 14 months.
December saw the intensification of direct conflict between Israel and the Houthis. The rebel group launched more than ten attacks against Israel involving ballistic missiles and drones, three of which were not intercepted by Israeli air defence systems and hit civilian areas. On 9 December, a drone launched by the Houthis struck a residential building in the central Israeli city of Yavneh, causing no casualties. A 19 December Houthi missile attack damaged a school in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan, with at least three people sustaining injuries. In the early hours of 21 December, a Houthi missile hit a playground Tel Aviv’s southern Jaffa area, reportedly injuring over 16 people.
On 19 December, Israel carried out airstrikes in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, reportedly targeting Houthi infrastructure at the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea as well as Houthi energy infrastructure in the city of Sana’a. This was the third time that Israel claimed responsibility for direct strikes in Yemen, after previously carrying out attacks on 20 July and 29 September in response to Houthi assaults against Israel.
In a 19 December statement, Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern about the Israeli strikes, noting that initial reports indicate that they resulted in civilian casualties, including nine killed, and “considerable damage to the Red Sea ports that will lead to the immediate and significant reduction in port capacity”. He added that the strikes followed approximately a year of “escalatory actions by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the region that threaten civilians, regional stability and freedom of maritime navigation” and expressed concern about the 19 December Houthi attack against Israel. Guterres called on all actors to exercise restraint and to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law by protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Following the 19 December attack, the Houthis launched several additional assaults at Israel that were intercepted. On 26 December, Israel carried out another significant air assault against Yemen, targeting the Sana’a International Airport and two power stations. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and UN Resident Coordinator in Yemen Julien Harneis, together with more than a dozen other UN personnel, were present at the Sana’a airport during the attack. Tedros and Harneis were unharmed by the strike, in which one UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) was injured. At least six people were killed, according to the Houthis.
At a 27 December press conference, Harneis noted that the strikes hit approximately 300 meters away from where the UN delegation was present, adding that a civilian plane was landing as the attack occurred and although it landed safely, it could been a far worse situation. He noted that the airport is a transit hub used by international humanitarian workers, emphasising that an attack that puts the airport out of commission would paralyse humanitarian operations in northern Yemen. In this vein, Harneis warned that if the conflict between Israel and the Houthis continues to intensify, the potential impact on civilian infrastructure would increase humanitarian needs, noting that the majority of commercial imports to Yemen enter through Hodeidah Port. He added that 18 million people are currently in need of assistance in the country, a number that is expected to rise to more than 19 million in 2025 because of deteriorating economic conditions.
According to Harneis, Tedros was in the country to engage with Houthi leaders to contribute to ongoing efforts to release the over 50 staff belonging to the UN and non-governmental organisations (NGO) detained by the Houthis since June. In a 6 December statement, Guterres noted that one UN staff member and two NGO personnel were released, while recalling that the continued detention of dozens of others “is unacceptable and constitutes a violation of international law”. Harneis noted in his press conference that, during Tedros’ engagements with the Houthi leaders, commitments were given related to the possible release of the remaining staff.
Guterres issued another statement on 26 December, expressing grave concern about the intensified escalation in Yemen and Israel. He noted that the Israeli airstrikes are “especially alarming” and warned that airstrikes on Red Sea ports and the Sana’a airport “pose grave risks to humanitarian operations at a time when millions of people are in need of life-saving assistance”. Further escalation in the region will continue to undermine the mediation efforts of UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg to resolve the conflict in Yemen, according to Guterres.
At tomorrow’s meeting, Khiari and Council members are similarly expected to voice alarm about the recent developments and the risk of further escalation in the region and call for restraint. In this regard, some might express concern about inflammatory rhetoric from both sides. On 23 December, after the Houthis launched two drones that were intercepted by Israeli air defence systems, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sare’e said that these attacks will continue until Israel stops its military campaign in Gaza. Since then, the Houthis have launched attacks on a daily basis, all of which have been intercepted by Israeli defence systems. Also on 23 December, Israeli Defense Minister Katz reportedly threatened that Israel will target the Houthi leadership, while referencing Israel’s July assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the September assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
Council members are likely to present different perspectives on the situation. Members more closely aligned with Israel, including the P3 (France, the UK, and the US), are likely to strongly condemn the Houthi attacks against Israel. Some of these members may express concern about the transfer of weapons to the Houthis, including by Iran. Israel’s 24 December letter to the Security Council called on the Council to condemn “Iran’s ongoing support and provision of arms” to the Houthis, maintaining that this violates international law and several Security Council resolutions. In a 24 December letter to the Council, Iran argued that Israel is trying to “justify and legitimize its past and future acts of aggression against Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by fabricating baseless allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
Other Council members, including Russia, may be more reluctant to condemn the Houthis and are likely to directly criticise the Israeli attacks in Yemen. These members may also condemn retaliatory strikes in Yemen conducted by the US and the UK in response to Houthi attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Several such strikes took place in the past month, including a 21 December strike by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by the Houthis in Sana’a.
Many Council members are likely to be interested in learning from Khiari about the possible humanitarian consequences of the Israeli airstrikes. There may be expressions of concern about possible effects on food security, since up to 85 percent of Yemen’s food supply is provided through commercial imports, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
