Houthi militants have fired a new missile called the Palestine, which they claim can fly at hypersonic speeds, at Israel.
The Yemen-based rebel group targeted the southern port city of Eilat with the new missile on Monday. Air raid sirens sounded in Israel in response to the attack, though no damage or injuries were reported.
The missile appears to be similar to one Iran unveiled earlier this year.
Footage released on Wednesday night claimed to show the launch of the Palestine, its warhead painted in the chequered pattern of a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf.
Experts say it is a precision-guided solid-fuel missile, more advanced than the liquid propellant missiles without guidance that the Houthis have been using until now.
Solid-fuel missiles more agile in combat
Solid-fuel missiles can be set up and launched quickly – an issue of growing concern for the Houthis as strikes by the US and UK, as part of an international coalition, have raised the stakes.
In at least one instance, one such attack disrupted the Houthis while they were preparing to launch a missile.
While the Houthis have claimed the new missile is “locally made,” the rebel group is believed unlikely to have the capability to develop such an advanced weapon.
Iran continues to deny arming the Houthis though ships seized by the US have been found to have Iranian weapons and fuel on board.
The Palestine missile has similar features to other solid-fuel missiles developed by Iran’s feared Revolutionary Guards, said Fabian Hinz, a weapons expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
That includes missiles called the Zohair, Keyybarshekan, and Fattah. The latter two are similar in design to the Palestine, Mr Hinz noted.
Iran unveiled hypersonic missile last year
Iran first unveiled the Fattah – which means “conqueror” in Farsi – last year, and claimed it could reach hypersonic speeds of Mach 15, or 15 times the speed of sound.
“While we cannot say for sure what exact version the Palestine corresponds to, we can say with high certainty that it is an advanced and precision-guided (Guard)-developed solid propellant missile provided by Iran,” Mr Hinz wrote online.
Eilat has a small sliver of coastline along the Gulf of Aqaba whose waters spill into the Red Sea.
Most Houthi attacks have been launched into the Red Sea, disrupting global commercial shipping through a key waterway.
The Houthis say they are perpetrating such attacks in solidarity with Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group.
Tensions are high in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war has raged on over the last eight months since Hamas attacked Israeli targets on Oct 7.
On Wednesday morning, a Syrian gunman fired toward the US embassy in Lebanon allegedly “in support of Gaza”.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
