Israel holding military drills in case of 'Houthi infiltration via Jordan'

The Israeli army is reportedly carrying out military drills in case of a potential infiltration by Houthi rebels via Jordan, despite the significant distance between Yemen and Amman, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

The exercise is reportedly aimed at testing the Israeli Central Command’s "readiness" at confronting high-intensity situations such as a potential Houthi attack, the Jerusalem Post said, which is among the Israeli CENTCOM’s most "concerning scenarios under review".

There have been no known threats of a Houthi-led attack on Israel as of late, despite what the Israeli military is claiming. Though reports have emerged that the Iran-backed group could attack in support of Tehran, as a US military fleet has arrived in the Middle East as of Monday.

The Israeli military, however, claimed that, as criminal organisations have exploited infiltration routes along the Israel-Jordan border, terror groups, in this case, the Houthis, could also do the same.

Earlier this month, the Israeli Ministry of Defence said it had begun demining the border area with Jordan as part of construction works for a new barrier it says aims to stem weapons smuggling.

Over the years, several deadly incidents have occurred along the border. In September, two Israeli citizens were killed by a man who arrived in a truck carrying humanitarian aid from Jordan.

There are no known links between the Iran-backed Houthis and Jordan. In fact, Amman has routinely condemned Houthi missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, which Jordan supports amid the Yemen crisis and the Saudi-led intervention. Jordan also has relations with the Saudi-backed government - the Houthis’ main rivals.

Over the past two years and three months, tensions in the region escalated rapidly in parallel with Israel's genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, beginning in October 2023.

Yemen's Houthi rebels launched several attacks against foreign and Israel-linked shipments in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in the war-battered enclave, disrupting international maritime trade and supply chains. The Iran-backed rebels vowed to continue such strikes until Israel halted its military onslaught in Gaza, which has killed over 71,600 Palestinians since.

The rebels also struck Israel proper with missiles as the Red Sea Crisis unfolded, with Israel retaliating on several occasions with multiple attacks and operations. Israel’s allies, the US and UK, also took part in military strikes against the Houthis.

Since the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in the Gaza Strip on 10 October last year, the Houthis said they would pause their attacks on Israel.