Middle East and Africa | Mutual attrition

Israel and the Houthis trade bombs and bluster

For now, though, neither side is a strategic threat to the other

Oil tanks burn at the port in Hodeidah, Yemen,  July 20th 2024
Photograph: AP
|DUBAI AND JERUSALEM

IT WAS not the first time the Houthis had taken a shot at Israel, not even close. The Shia rebels who control much of Yemen have launched more than 220 missiles and drones at Israel since October. Most have been intercepted over the Red Sea by America and its allies, or shot down by Israel’s air defences. A handful reached southern Israel but did little damage. On July 19th, though, the Houthis hit an apartment building in Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding at least eight others.

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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Mutual attrition”

Can she win?

From the July 27th 2024 edition

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