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Analysts: Houthi Engagement in Gaza War Unlikely to Affect Peace Efforts in Yemen

Members of Houthi military forces parade in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, Yemen September 1, 2022. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS
Members of Houthi military forces parade in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, Yemen September 1, 2022. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS
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Analysts: Houthi Engagement in Gaza War Unlikely to Affect Peace Efforts in Yemen

Members of Houthi military forces parade in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, Yemen September 1, 2022. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS
Members of Houthi military forces parade in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, Yemen September 1, 2022. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS

Analysts ruled out that the Houthi group’s involvement in the current war in Gaza would affect the ongoing peace efforts in Yemen.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, analysts said the Houthis, by announcing the targeting of Israel, sought to express popular support for the Palestinians, suggesting that Israel would respond by attacking Houthi military targets, while ruling out any US intervention, at least at the current stage.

On Tuesday, the Houthi group in Yemen officially claimed responsibility for bombing Israel with missiles and drones. The announcement came after the US and Israeli forces previously said the attacks came from the southern Red Sea.

Mustafa Naaman, the former Undersecretary of the Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the “Houthi endeavour” in Gaza will not have an impact on the internal situation and the ongoing negotiations between the parties to the Yemeni conflict.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Naaman said that he expects that the recent events would accelerate the closure of the Yemeni war and would see the start of addressing the humanitarian side.

For his part, Dr. Hisham Al-Ghannam, the General Supervisor of the Center for Security Research and National Security Programs at Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS), explained that the Houthis have repeatedly announced that they were part of what they called the “axis of resistance and opposition,” and that they would engage in any battle involving this axis.

Al-Ghannam went on to say that the Houthi move fell within the framework of an expression of popular support for the Palestinians and would not impact the ongoing efforts in Yemen.

“The internal Yemeni situation is complex and more complicated than it appears to be... Certainly, the symbolic involvement in a battle far from Yemen will have no impact on the internal Yemeni negotiations, because the intra-Yemeni disputes have nothing to do with Palestine...” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Al-Ghannam also ruled out any “American intervention against the Houthis, unless their forces or interests are directly targeted.”

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Inside Hezbollah’s Kamikaze Drone That Hit Israel's Binyamina

A photo released by the Israeli army spokesperson of the “Sayyad 107” drone.
A photo released by the Israeli army spokesperson of the “Sayyad 107” drone.
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Inside Hezbollah’s Kamikaze Drone That Hit Israel's Binyamina

A photo released by the Israeli army spokesperson of the “Sayyad 107” drone.
A photo released by the Israeli army spokesperson of the “Sayyad 107” drone.

The Israeli security apparatuses are investigating the type of kamikaze drone that Hezbollah used on Sunday evening to hit a Golani Brigade base near Binyamina south of Haifa, killing four soldiers and wounding about 90 others, including 12 soldiers with serious injuries.

Ron Ben-Yishai, a security expert at the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, said that from the limited details currently available, the drone was likely a Sayyad 107 model, a UAV manufactured in Iran and widely used by Hezbollah, which also produces it in large quantities in Lebanon.

“The model’s flight path can be programmed to frequently change altitude and direction, making it difficult to detect and track,” Ben-Yishai said.

“It has a range of up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) and is small, with a very low radar signature compared to larger, metal-made UAVs. Its detection relies on the heat emitted by the engine, which is also challenging to identify via optical means,” he added.

According to the security expert, the military is examining all possibilities, but it's almost certain that the UAV, which hit a critical target and caused many casualties, wasn't only a specialized model but also Hezbollah managed to overwhelm or disrupt the Israeli army’s detection systems by launching a mixed salvo of rockets and two other drones aimed at the Western Galilee.

Ben-Yishai noted that the UAVs continued toward the sea off the northern coast and the Iron Dome system intercepted one.

The Israeli army dispatched fighter jets and combat helicopters to track the remaining UAV, but contact with it was lost, he said.

The expert said it is possible that the UAV was pre-programmed to sharply descend toward the ground or the sea and continue flying at low altitude, exploiting the coastal terrain and then the hills of the coastal plain to evade interceptors.

“Hezbollah has gained considerable experience in operating UAVs over the past year, successfully causing numerous casualties among civilians and primarily IDF soldiers at remote bases,” Ben-Yishai wrote, adding that over half of the drones launched by Hezbollah are intercepted, either by the Israeli army fighter jets sent to engage them or by the Iron Dome and David's Sling systems.

However, he noted, due to the UAV's small size and very weak radar signature, the Iron Dome's fire control radars and the optical sensors on fighter jets and helicopters often lose track of them, especially in hilly areas where radar echoes from the terrain are dominant and misleading.

Ben-Yishai revealed that the Israeli army and defense industries have been trying to find a solution to this issue at least since the current war began, but there is still no effective detection and interception solution.

He said the sophisticated UAVs manufactured by Iran are equipped with inertial navigation systems in addition to satellite navigation, enabling them to stay on course and strike their targets even when faced with GPS jamming.

“This is intended to mislead them, but Iran and Hezbollah sometimes bypass the American GPS jamming by using unique satellite navigation systems developed by Russia or China,” Ben-Yishai said.