Iranian-backed Houthi rebels launched an attack on Israel Saturday, entering the war with its first-ever attack on the Jewish state from Yemen.

Israel Defense Forces intercepted one missile fired from the terror group which took credit for the strike that set off bomb sirens in Beer Sheba overnight into Saturday.

The strike marked the third night sirens blared in the area, which is home to Israel’s main nuclear research center.

A view of missile traces launched from Yemen at Israel sighted in the sky over Hebron, West Bank, March 28, 2026. Anadolu via Getty Images

Later Saturday, the IDF announced it intercepted a second cruise missile fired by the Houthis, The Times of Israel reported.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, took credit for the attack in a statement Saturday on the rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite television.

Saree said strikes “will continue … until the aggression against all front of the resistance ceases,” Al Jazeera reported.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree delivers a military statement on the attacks against two commercial vessels in the Red Sea, during a pro-Palestinians rally in Yemen on December 15, 2023 YAHYA ARHAB/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The attack came hours after Saree signaled in a statement Friday that the rebels were ready to join the fight, escalating the regional conflict by adding a new front to the Iran’s war with the US and Israel.

The Houthi’s targeting of the Israeli nuclear center came just hours after the IDF struck Iran’s nuclear facilities after threatening to “escalate and expand” its campaign against Tehran Friday.

The Houthis entrance into the war could prove costly for commercial shipping in the Red Sea corridor as the Iraninan proxy group has previously targeted shipping vessels in the region, including during the war in Gaza.

Over 100 merchant vessels were hit by Houthi missiles and drones between November 2023 and January 2025 — resulting in the destruction of two commercial vessels and the death of four sailors.

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the missile, which Israeli military said it intercepted. Anadolu via Getty Images

Commercial shipping in the region is still under the stranglehold of Iran, which has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz despite the overwhelming destruction of their navy by US and Israeli airstrikes.