Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement has remained unwavering in its support for Gaza, sustaining a barrage of drone and missile attacks on strategic Israeli assets, chiefly airports and seaports, even after reaching a de-escalation agreement with the United States that effectively paused direct hostilities between the two sides.

This persistent campaign has thrown the Israeli security establishment into strategic disarray, as Tel Aviv finds itself confronting the Yemenis in isolation, unable to shatter their will, deter further assaults, or dictate terms. This is despite escalating its airstrikes on Yemen and intensifying intelligence-gathering operations across the region.

Israeli media commentators and defense analysts increasingly concede that the sustained strikes by Yemen’s Ansar Allah have sown deep anxiety and fear across "Israel." The recurring missile and drone attacks have exposed the limits of Israeli deterrence, which has thus far failed to curtail or dissuade the Yemenis. As multiple Israeli commentators have bluntly observed, “Israel must come to terms with a new operational reality: a sustained routine of fire from Yemen for as long as the Gaza war endures.”

According to a report by Channel 12, "Israel" has escalated its intelligence and military operations in Yemen, launching a series of intensified airstrikes targeting strategic and national infrastructure. The stated objective is to “extract a heavy price” from the Yemenis in an effort to halt ongoing missile launches, an outcome that has yet to be achieved.

Despite the expanded campaign, senior Israeli military and intelligence officials have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of such strikes, citing Yemen’s vast and rugged geography as a significant obstacle to achieving strategic gains.

Tel Aviv deepens surveillance efforts in Yemen

Military correspondent Lilach Shoval of Israel Hayom reported that Israeli intelligence assesses that Ansar Allah seems to be manufacturing missiles on a weekly basis. According to these estimates, the movement possesses dozens, if not hundreds, of projectiles that could be launched toward "Israel".

Shoval added that the sustained airstrikes have failed to prevent the continued import of missile components and military equipment into Yemen, enabling Ansar Allah to maintain and possibly expand its operational capabilities.

In parallel with its ongoing air campaign, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli Air Force has substantially expanded its intelligence-gathering operations focused on Yemen. At the start of the year, the Air Force established a dedicated “Yemen Desk” within its intelligence division. Originally staffed by a single officer two years ago, the unit has since grown to four officers and is now tasked with managing intelligence collection, threat analysis, early warning, and targeting operations specifically related to Yemen.

According to the newspaper, “The Israeli Air Force accelerated its intelligence gathering on Yemen two months before the war on Gaza, based on concrete future threats.”

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In a similar vein, an Israeli Air Force intelligence officer told Yedioth Ahronoth, “When we realized the Houthis were escalating their operations, we expanded the Yemen target bank.” He described Ansar Allah as “a defiant enemy,” noting that the situation in Yemen poses serious practical and logistical difficulties for the Israeli military.

 “It is a highly complex environment,” he said, citing the need for 2,000-kilometer flight operations and a layered intelligence-to-execution framework, which is constrained by logistical limitations and heightened operational risks.

Despite recent Israeli airstrikes, the officer acknowledged their limited impact, stating: “The attacks shook them, injured them… but I don’t believe it will stop them.”

Israeli analysts question the strategic value of Israeli attacks

The continuing missile and drone attacks launched by Ansar Allah against the occupied Palestinian territories, often triggering air raid sirens and interceptor launches, have prompted Israeli analysts to question the strategic value of their military response.

Security affairs analyst Ronen Bergman, writing for Yedioth Ahronoth, concluded that "Israel’s" deterrence is ineffective. “The Yemenis were not defeated by the Americans nor the Arab states, and they won’t be defeated by Israel either,” he wrote. “They live with little and inflict great damage.”

Along the same lines, Yariv Oppenheimer, former head of Peace Now, told Kan TV, “‘Israel’s’ strikes in Yemen are just for show. They don’t deter anyone and don’t deprive the Houthis of missile capability. It’s only meant to signal that we’re not naïve.”

Retired Colonel Itamar Yaar, former deputy head of "Israel’s" National Security Council, also told Kan that “These strikes merely send a message to the Israeli public: ‘Look, we’re responding.’”

Similarly, Shoval also reported that many within the Israeli security establishment now regard Ansar Allah as a “confounding enemy” with advanced, state-backed military capabilities. Their growing influence within the Axis of Resistance has had a direct impact on "Israel": frequent air raid sirens are driving millions into bomb shelters, while sustained disruptions to infrastructure, especially in air transport, have significantly dented economic and logistical stability.

Former Israeli Operations Directorate Chief, Major General (Res.) Israel Ziv, added another dimension, “The Houthis’ agreement with Trump granted them legitimacy to continue attacking Israel, and that’s the most dangerous development.”

Israeli air defense chief: Tel Aviv must brace for continued fire

Retired Brigadier General Zvika Haimovich, former commander of the Israeli Air Defense Command, has also warned that “Israel, unfortunately, must get used to the routine of fire from Yemen as long as the Gaza war continues.” He emphasized that "Israel" should rely on its formidable, but not foolproof, air defense systems, “There’s no such thing as 100% defense.”

In a related context, Israel Hayom underscored the broader ramifications of the persistent threat, noting a recent failure to intercept a missile that landed in the vicinity of Ben Gurion Airport. The incident effectively triggered “a quasi-air blockade,” as several foreign airlines suspended flights to and from "Israel" over the past two weeks amid the continued missile and drone attacks originating from Yemen.

The paper added that this form of aerial siege came at a time when "Israel" itself sought to impose a naval or air blockade on Yemen. The ineffectiveness of Israeli strikes was underscored by the rapid resumption of operations at Sanaa International Airport barely a week after it was hit.

Strikingly, Ansar Allah appears to be “mimicking Israeli operational methods.” According to the report, Yemen has introduced a new element to the equation: it now “mirrors Israel’s approach by issuing warnings before striking ports and airports, only to follow through with drone or missile attacks.”