Israel estimates 50% of ballistic missiles fired by Houthis failed during Gaza War

Israeli officials told the news outlet N12 on Monday that approximately 50% of all ballistic missiles fired by the Iranian-backed Yemen-based Houthi terrorist militia failed during the ongoing Gaza War. 

The Houthis have fired hundreds of missiles and drones against Israel since the Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel in 2023. Like its patron, the Ayatollah regime in Tehran, the Houthis openly call for Israel’s destruction. The terror group’s slogan is "God is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse be upon the Jews, Victory to Islam."

Defense sources revealed that the comparatively low number of sirens activated in Israel during the Houthi missile attacks is due to technical problems with the incoming missiles and the good performance by the Israeli Arrow 3 and the U.S. THAAD aerial defense systems. 

Washington deployed a THAAD system to Israel in 2024 in order to boost the country’s defense capabilities against the continued Houthi missile attacks.

Last week, Washington deployed a second THAAD battery in Israel ahead of a potential large-scale strike on Iran’s nuclear sites if diplomacy fails to prevent the ayatollah regime from acquiring nuclear weapons. 

Due to the vast distance between Yemen and Israel, the Houthis have played a comparatively minor role in the ongoing Iranian-led terrorist proxy war against the Jewish state.

However, in 2024, Israel eventually responded to the Houthi attacks with several strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. In late December, the Israeli Air Force conducted its largest strike to date against the Houthis, targeting military sites, power stations and the airport in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital Sana’a. 

“The Houthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror, and their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world,” the Israeli military stated at the time. “The Houthi terrorist regime operates as an autonomous terrorist group while relying on Iranian cooperation and funding to carry out its attacks."

In March 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military to carry out large strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. 

“To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY,” Trump wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform. “IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!”

Last month, Israeli officials estimated that the Houthis only have “few dozen” ballistic missiles left in their diminishing stockpile. The Trump administration urged Israel to focus on the immediate threats of Hamas and Hezbollah while the U.S. military is taking care of the Houthi threat.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump’s decision to strike the Houthis with strong force. 

“I greatly appreciate the actions of our ally, the U.S.,” Netanyahu stated during a government meeting. “They are dealing with them very forcefully. Of course, we are acting to defend ourselves, as has happened recently. But the fact that the U.S. has gone in there vigorously is a major change." 

Trump has also warned the Ayatollah regime that he holds Tehran responsible for the ongoing threat from the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia.