Yemen's Houthi group has entered the monthlong Middle East war, launching their first direct ballistic missiles at Israel on Saturday, escalating the US-Israel-Iran conflict exactly a calendar month after the pair launched joint attacks on Iran.

The group's spokesperson confirmed two rounds – first ballistic missiles on southern Israel's sensitive military sites, then cruise missiles and drones – and framed their action as support for Iran and the "fronts of resistance" in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq.

Experts say it could be a game-changer, bolstering Iran, threatening Gulf interests and Saudi-Iran ties, and risking a global energy crisis if the Houthis were to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another critical chokepoint in the region for global oil and trade flows.

Houthis imply further strikes while Israel vows a price

The Houthis on Saturday launched two rounds of attacks on Israel in a sequential wave of military strikes, while signaling their readiness for further action and describing the move as their "legitimate right" to confront what they described as the "brutal US-Israeli aggression" against Iran and the broader region.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea first confirmed that the group had targeted "sensitive Israeli military sites" in southern Israel with a barrage of ballistic missiles. Hours later, Sarea announced a second round of attacks, deploying cruise missiles and drones against key Israeli targets.

The operation, which was coordinated with Iran and Hezbollah, had "successfully achieved its objectives," the spokesperson said on social media platform X. "We confirm that our operations will continue in the coming days until the aggression stops."

In response, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Effie Defrin said at a press conference on Saturday evening that the IDF was fully prepared for the Houthi group's participation in the conflict, warning that any attack on Israel would come at a price.

He stated that a missile fired from Yemen toward Israel earlier that day had been intercepted by Israel's air defense system.

This is the first time the Israeli military has detected Houthi missile attacks since the current conflict began on February 28, and also the first time the Houthis have launched missiles at Israel since the Gaza ceasefire took effect last October. As a result, Israel now faces threats from three fronts: Iran to the east, Hezbollah in Lebanon to the north, and the Houthis to the south.

The Houthis, who have controlled the capital city of Sanaa and much of northern Yemen since late 2014, previously sided with Iran during last year's 12-day war involving the US, Israel, and Iran.

Yemen's internationally recognized government on Saturday condemned the Houthis' attacks, warning they risk dragging the country into a broader regional confrontation.

Ripple effects feared amid 'multi-front' escalation

The entry of Yemen's Houthi group into the war marks a definitive shift from a direct confrontation between Israel, the US and Iran to a sprawling regional conflagration, threatening to upend both geopolitical alignments and global economic stability, according to analysts.

Military observer Wei Dongxu said the latest attacks by the Houthis, the most militarily capable of Iran's regional allies, effectively broaden Iran's counterstrike architecture.

By launching ballistic missiles at Israel, the group has sent a clear warning signal: any continued strikes against Iran and its allies by the US and Israel will be met with an expansion of the battlefield in the Red Sea.

Qin Tian, deputy director of the Middle East Institute at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), said the conflict has now evolved into a "multi-front" dynamic.

While the main battlefield remains centered around the Persian Gulf, the war's geography now forms a volatile triangle with intense exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, direct friction between Israel, the US and Iran, compounded by militia strikes in Iraq, and the Houthis' opening of a new front targeting southern Israel, Qin said.

Beyond the immediate military escalation, Li Yanan, also deputy director of the Middle East Institute at CICIR, said the Houthis' intervention risks collateral damage to regional diplomacy, especially the fragile reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, and that the interests of Gulf states could be further compromised, significantly heightening the pressure on them to recalibrate their policies.

However, it is vital to note the nuance in Houthi motivations. Li said the group's main strategic focus has always been on Yemen's domestic situation. "Their support for Iran is more a way to sustain external ties than a core objective in itself."

The most acute threat lies in the potential closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. An Iranian military source recently confirmed that if naval pressure increases in the Persian Gulf or Oman, a new front will be activated at this critical Yemeni chokepoint between Europe and Asia.

Li said a dual crisis – the simultaneous obstruction of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb Strait – would effectively sever the alternative routes Gulf nations currently use to export oil via Red Sea ports.

This total blockage of the main artery of global energy flow would likely trigger unprecedented oil price volatility and systemic market panic, Li warned.