A missile launched from Yemen landed in Egypt last night, it was intended to strike Israel. The missile crashed near Sharm el-Sheikh of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Sharm-el-Sheikh is a popular vacation resort usually filled with foreign tourists. Many will leave or cancel their bookings that may cause short-term financial damage to the Egyptian economy.
The overnight incident came just hours after the U.S. launched an unprecedented bombing campaign of Houthi strongholds in Yemen as the Iran-backed group renewed its threats on Red Sea shipping. The Houthi-run health ministry reported at least 31 fatalities in the attacks.
Reports suggest the U.S. offensive is the beginning of a sustained response to renewed Houthi threats against Israel and vessels sailing to its ports through the Red Sea.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has blamed Iran for supporting the Houthis’ attacks on Red Sea shipping, warned Tehran to halt its backing of the group immediately.
“Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
The rebels, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the “axis of resistance” of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the United States. They have launched scores of drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration reclassified the Houthis as a “foreign terrorist organization,” banning any US interaction with it.
North African countries are within the firing range of Iranian and Houthi projectiles. This is not the first time a missile from Yemen finds its way into Africa.
In April last year, an Iranian-made Quds-2 cruise missile, likely launched from Yemen, crashed in Sudan. The incident has raised concerns over the proliferation of advanced weaponry and the stability of the region.
The Quds-2 missile, believed to be fired towards a commercial vessel in the Red Sea, unexpectedly came down in Sudanese territory.
