Context:

• Yemen’s Houthis have entered into the ongoing conflict, declaring that they had fired drones and missiles at Israel to help the Palestinians to victory.

About Houthis

• The Houthis are a large clan belonging to the Zaidi Shia sect, with roots in Yemen’s northwestern Sa’dah province. 
• Houthi Movement: It began in the 1990s against the dictatorship of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
• Yemen Civil War: Houthis are one faction in a civil war and control territory in the west and northwest of Yemen, including the capital Sana.
• • Other Factions: Yemeni government, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Ansar al-Sharia, etc.
• Anti-Israel: Houthis, backed by Iran, are a part of “The Axis of Resistance” which is an informal anti-Israel and anti-West political and military coalition that it leads.

About Yemen:

• Border: Saudi Arabia bounds it to the north and Oman to the east. 
• Coastline: It has the Red Sea to the west. The Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and Guardafui Channel bound it to the south. 
• Strategic Importance:  Located at the entrance of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait which links the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea via the Gulf of Aden.

News Source: The Indian Express