The Houthis, who have been in a strong position in the civil war in Yemen since 2021, have sought to use the window of opportunity opened by the war in Gaza to expand their regional footprint. They are now the only pole of the ‘axis’ standing,

Israel is signaling a wider campaign against Houthi militants in Yemen, a mountainous and impoverished country more than 1,000 miles from Israeli territory.

A Houthi political official says the group will continue attacking Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians despite the escalating Israeli air strikes in Yemen.Mohammed al-Bukhaiti told the BBC that the Houthis would "escalate our military targeting of Israel" until it stopped what he described as "the genocide in Gaza".