The Houthis attack Israel again, and Katz vows a harsh response.

The Israeli occupation army announced today, Thursday, that a missile launched from Yemen fell in an open area outside of Israel. This marks the third missile launched from Yemen towards Israel in less than 24 hours, while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened the Houthis with a "harsh response."

The Israeli army stated that it also intercepted two drones launched from Yemen. For its part, the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority announced today, Thursday, that it received a report about a ship being targeted by an unknown projectile that fell into the Red Sea, 178 nautical miles northwest of the Yemeni city of Hodeidah, in an incident that brings tensions back to the forefront of international navigation in the region.

The authority stated in a statement that "the ship's captain reported that an unknown projectile fell into the sea close to the ship, along with severe electronic interference in the area," confirming that the crew is fine and that the ship continues its journey to its next destination.

The responsible party for the attack has not been identified, while the authority indicated that the relevant authorities have opened an investigation into the incident, urging passing ships to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.

This development comes days after a similar incident southwest of the Saudi city of Yanbu, where the same British authority announced that it received a report from the captain of a ship -whose identity was not specified- about missile fragments of unknown origin scattered near his vessel, and hearing a loud explosion, without any damage occurring.

These incidents heighten fears of a resurgence of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by the Ansar Allah group (Houthis), despite a decline in such attacks in recent months, especially with the group's confirmation of maintaining a ban on the passage of Israeli ships in the Red Sea until the end of the genocide in the Gaza Strip.

In a related context, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz escalated his rhetoric towards the Houthis, threatening them with a "harsh response," citing what was mentioned in the Old Testament.

He stated via the X platform: "The Houthis are launching missiles again at Israel. The strike of darkness, the strike of the firstborn, we will complete all ten strikes."

The Houthis had announced targeting Ben Gurion Airport with a ballistic missile, a day after intercepting two missiles launched from Yemen.

The Iran-backed group vowed to intensify its attacks on Israel in response to the killing of its Prime Minister and 11 other officials in an Israeli airstrike on Sana'a last week.

In another development, a government official in Sana'a reported that UN employees detained by the Houthis days ago are suspected of spying for Israel and the United States.

He clarified that those proven guilty will be referred to trial, while the United Nations confirmed that several of its employees have been held by the Houthis for years.

The UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, announced last Sunday that the Houthis had detained at least 11 of the organization's employees following an Israeli airstrike that killed the Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi and 9 ministers and government officials, in a new escalation that reflects the complexity of the Yemeni scene and its regional and international entanglements.

Among the detainees are employees of the World Food Programme and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Dozens of others were also detained last Saturday "on suspicion of collaborating with Israel," according to a Yemeni security source who informed the French Press Agency at the time.

Even before the arrests on Sunday, the Houthis were holding 23 UN employees, some since 2021, in addition to others detained in June 2024 on charges of joining an "American-Israeli espionage network" operating under the guise of humanitarian organizations, accusations that the United Nations strongly rejected.