Yet the Houthis have managed to overcome the vast distance between Yemen and Israel, launching advanced ballistic missiles and waging an unprecedented naval blockade in the Red Sea. Their attacks have paralyzed Israel’s southern port in Eilat and severely disrupted global shipping through the Suez Canal.
A year and nine months into the regional war, the Houthis have emerged as Iran’s most active front against Israel, vowing to keep attacking until the war in Gaza ends. The motivation behind their campaign is puzzling, given the heavy toll they’ve paid from Israeli airstrikes. Yet they appear undeterred, fighting a war they cannot win.
To better understand the ideology driving their relentless hostility, Ynet managed to contact a senior Houthi figure, despite strict internal bans on communication with Israelis. Speaking anonymously, the source offered insight into the movement’s worldview, revealing a depth of indoctrination and hatred that helps explain their continued aggression—and why no diplomatic formula has yet succeeded in stopping them.
“What do you want from Israel?”
“We want only one thing from the Zionist entity: to leave the Arab land of Palestine,” the Houthi official said. “We believe Israel’s existence is illegitimate. Its end is a divine certainty. Israel is a criminal entity planted at the heart of the [Muslim] nation, built on murder, occupation, and the desecration of holy places.
“At Ansar Allah [the Houthis’ official name], we believe this is an existential struggle—faith against heresy, the oppressed against the oppressors. We will prevail. We want Israel erased and Al-Aqsa Mosque purified. This is God’s promise to His servants.”
Asked whether the threats would continue even after the Gaza war ends, he responded, “The Gaza war has changed the equation. It proved that the resistance can inflict pain on you, the occupying Zionist entity. We are part of the Axis of Jerusalem and will continue supporting the Palestinian resistance—politically, militarily, and morally—until our greater goal is achieved: dismantling and destroying the Zionist entity from all fronts—Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria.”
“Our mission is clear: confuse the entity, weaken it until it collapses from within. We will expand our operations in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea. We will strike anything linked to Israel, inside Yemen and beyond. Jews are a legitimate target for us. Soon you’ll hear of our attacks.”
“We want sovereignty and a Quran-based state.”
Asked about their domestic goals in Yemen, the official said, “We are fighting to liberate Yemen from the American-Saudi-Zionist aggression until we achieve sovereignty and independence. We reject foreign presence and seek to build a Quran-based, just system that advances Yemen politically, economically, and morally.”
“We will restore the status of Muslims that Saudi Arabia and Gulf regimes—who are merely agents—have sold out. We will support the nation’s causes, especially Palestine, and build an ideologically driven army to defend Yemen and the Muslim world. We don’t seek power for its own sake but to implement the vision of Hussein al-Houthi: building an Islamic state and defeating the Jews.”
“Iran is our strategic ally.”
The Houthis do not hide their deep alignment with Iran. “We are not ashamed of our alliance with Iran—we’re proud of it,” he said. Iran stands with the nation’s causes. They are our model. Our relationship is one of religious and strategic brotherhood, based on supporting the oppressed. It is a relationship of faith and loyalty to Ayatollahs Khomeini and Khamenei. Iran is our strategic ally in confronting the American-Zionist hegemony. Iran will help us erase Israel from the map.”
“We’re preparing for the march on Al-Aqsa”.
Asked where the Houthis were before the Gaza war, he said, “We were where we needed to be. Today, we fight with American-made weapons inside Yemen. We are building strength and preparing for the day we march on Al-Aqsa. We instill Quran-based thinking into the souls of the Muslim nation. Our slogan, ‘Death to America, death to Israel,’ is not just a slogan—it’s a way of life, from the beginning of the Quran until we liberate Jerusalem and return the rights of the people.”
“We are a people who survive by war.”
When confronted with Yemen’s internal suffering—widespread poverty, disease, and humanitarian collapse—the official defended the Houthi focus on war. “We fight to defend our people and preserve their dignity. If we surrender to the aggression, our people will have neither value nor land. This war was forced upon us, and we direct all resources to building the strength that protects our people, e—not for personal gain like mercenaries do.”
“It doesn’t matter if we dedicate resources to the people or not. What matters is that we figou to carry out our leaders’ directives. The Yemeni people will manage their affairs as needed. We are a nation that survives by war. We build and fight simultaneously and will continue until we defeat the aggression and build faith.”
“We don’t care about your airstrikes. We don’t care if you use nuclear weapons. The people will become martyrs—and that is our faith.”
“You will be defeated—at sea, on land, and abroad”
To the Israeli government, the official declared: “You are a criminal, occupying entity—and you will be defeated like every tyrant in history. You will not enjoy security—not in Tel Aviv, not in Eilat, not in the depths of the Red Sea, and not abroad. We will strike and support anyone who strikes you. You cannot stop the progress of the [Muslim] nation. Your end is inevitable—whether you like it or not.”
“You are the fuel of a satanic Zionist project. You must leave the land of Canaan and return to your homes. Zionism will lead you to ruin. We say this to you clearly: examine yourselves and leave this land that is not yours, before the storm of wrath that will rise from Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza, and all the free peoples of the nation sweeps you away. If you choose to stay, your end will be like every invader in history.”
