TEHRAN – Yemen’s Ansarullah declared on Monday that its forces had carried out a new operation against Israel, unveiling the use of a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile in a strike on “sensitive targets” in Tel Aviv.

In the same statement, the group announced its drones hit key sites in Eilat, underscoring its determination to sustain pressure “until the aggression against Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.”

Israel said its air defenses were activated and that the incoming projectile had been intercepted — a familiar binary in this conflict: Ansarullah’s vivid operational claims against Israeli assertions of successful interception. Those dueling narratives, however, obscure the operational reality: attacks are increasingly targeting economic and transport hubs in southern Israel.

Tactically, Ansarullah has shifted from symbolic, long-range salvos to strikes aimed at producing tangible disruption. Ramon Airport, Eilat’s commercial belt, and ports such as Ashdod and Eilat are now deliberate targets because damage there yields disproportionate economic and psychological effects and directly degrades Israel’s ability to move goods, people, and military materiel.

These nodes are not merely economic fixtures; they are logistical arteries that, if used to intensify the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, would deepen the humanitarian catastrophe.

By striking that infrastructure, Ansarullah’s operations may act as a preemptive disruption of a renewed Nakba, tying tactical choices to a wider political defense of the Palestinian people.

This reorientation reflects Ansarullah’s declared strategy: to scale the scope and intensity of operations in direct proportion to Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Hitting southern ports and airports both degrades capacity and preserves the political resonance of deep strikes on central Israeli targets, weaving tactical disruption into a broader campaign of calibrated resistance.

Technically, Ansarullah has demonstrated undeniable breakthroughs. Its arsenal now includes longer-range solid-fuel ballistic missiles, precision-guided systems, and a new generation of UAVs such as advanced Samad variants and the stealthy “Jaffa” drones, which have repeatedly challenged Israeli air-defense layers.

Their use of the Palestine-2 hypersonic missile represents a qualitative leap — extended range, maneuverability, and multiple warheads — and signals Sanaa’s capacity to shape the strategic agenda in ways that force Tel Aviv and its allies to reckon with new, harder-to-ignore threats.

The wider impact is concrete. Sustained naval interdiction and repeated strikes have devastated Eilat’s trade and tourism: port activity has plunged, many ships reroute around Africa, and war-risk insurance and freight costs have surged, imposing multi-billion-dollar strains on Israeli commerce and supply chains.

Equally significant is the psychological toll: sirens, shelter runs, and chronic disruption erode daily life in the south, dent investor confidence, and force political calculations in Tel Aviv.

Strategically, Ansarullah’s campaign is asymmetric by design — decentralized launches, maritime interdiction, and publicized operations that amplify solidarity with Gaza.

Hardened by a decade of conflict and blockade at home, Yemen’s forces have turned scarcity into reach. Their actions have reshaped regional risk calculations, complicated Israel’s multi-front military posture, increased the political cost of continued Gaza operations, and bolstered recruitment and political standing in Sana’a.

For policymakers and publics alike, the lesson is stark: asymmetric attrition now pairs kinetic strikes with economic and psychological disruption, and Ansarullah’s leaders make no secret of their objective — sustain pressure to force an end to Gaza’s blockade.