Yemen: A Hebrew report highlighted the military and security predicament facing the Israeli entity in confronting Yemen’s support front, as Yemeni Armed Forces have demonstrated their ability to execute successful attacks deep within occupied territories. 

On Sunday, the Hebrew newspaper The Marker published a report spotlighting the growing Yemeni threat to Israeli security and the difficulty of countering it.

This comes alongside the failure of the U.S. and UK to halt Yemeni operations and the ineffectiveness of costly Israeli airstrikes on Yemen from 2,000 kilometers away.

The report noted that this predicament has pushed Israel to explore alternatives, including attempts to establish a military base in Somaliland.

The report recounted an incident on July 19 when a drone reached Tel Aviv’s shores, killing an Israeli in his sleep near the U.S. Embassy. This incident exposed the vulnerability of Israel’s security systems, as no one had anticipated that a small, slow-moving drone launched from Yemen—over 2,000 kilometers away—could evade Israel’s advanced air defense systems, penetrate Tel Aviv, kill one person, injure ten others, and spread panic.

The report stated that the attack not only highlighted the operational capabilities of the Houthis but also forced Israel’s security establishment to acknowledge that Israel must develop its own solutions to counter the Yemeni threat, as the U.S. and UK have limited their support to military aid.

According to the report, Israel recognized that it could not continue launching long, costly airstrikes on Yemen every time a $20,000 Houthi drone detonated. Especially concerning is Yemen’s vast stockpile of drones, one of the largest globally.

The report explained that Israel is now seeking more effective alternatives, one of which is rooted in Somaliland—a small, unrecognized state that declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has struggled to gain international recognition. It noted that Israel has been quietly approaching Somaliland with a proposal that serves both sides: Israel would establish a military base there, enabling attacks and deterrence against Houthi targets, while Somaliland would receive official recognition and financial investments.

The report cited a Middle East Monitor article from October last year stating that the UAE is mediating between Israel and Somaliland. The UAE has reportedly not only convinced Somaliland to allow the base’s establishment but is also funding it. 

Somaliland has already permitted the UAE to use the Berbera port and airport as a base for its operations in Yemen in exchange for a $440 million Emirati investment in the port, according to foreign reports.

These developments reflect Israel’s struggle to effectively counter Yemen’s support front. Even establishing a military base close to Yemen is unlikely to achieve what American, British, and Western forces—and Israeli airstrikes—have failed to accomplish. 

The issue lies not in distance but in the inherent failure of the strategies and tools Israel and its allies rely on. Establishing such bases also risks draining Israeli military resources, a key reason why Israel initially delegated the Yemen front to the U.S. and UK. With the Lebanese front heating up and Israel’s mounting military and economic losses, the threat of further depletion looms large.