Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Israel on Saturday morning – their first since Israel and the United States attacked Iran four weeks ago.

A military spokesman for the Houthis issued the claim in a statement aired on Saturday morning by the group’s  Al-Masirah satellite television station.

The attack came just hours after a vague statement on Friday in which the Iran-backed group said they would join the war on the side of Tehran.

They said the attack – allegedly part of a barrage ⁠of ​missiles – came after Israel and the US continued their strikes on infrastructure ​in Iran, ‌Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories, ​adding ⁠that their operations would continue until ⁠the ‘aggression’ ​on all fronts ends.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said it had identified a launch of a missile from Yemen, early on Saturday.

On Friday, Houthis warned that they have their ‘fingers on the trigger’ if new countries join the United States and Israel in military action against Iran.

In a televised statement, military spokesperson Yahya Saree also cautioned that any use of the Red Sea for what he called ‘hostile operations’ against Iran would prompt a response.

Saree said the Iran-backed group is prepared to act if escalation against Iran and the so-called ‘axis of resistance’ continues, though he did not specify what form that intervention might take.

Trump criticises Germany’s Merz

Donald Trump criticised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for declining to provide military support to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking at a conference in Miami, the US president first targeted NATO allies France and the UK over burden-sharing.

He then turned to Germany, claiming Merz said, ‘this is not our war’. That line were actually said by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.

“Friedrich, the chancellor of Germany, he said, ‘this is not our war’,” Trump said, adding that ‘Ukraine is not our war, but we help them’.

He again repeated threats that Washington might not come to their aid if asked.

“We spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO, hundreds, protecting them, and we would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?” he said. “Why would we be there for them if they’re not there for us? They weren’t there for us.”

DW’s Rosie Birchard reported that German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul earlier seemed relieved after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in France.

Wadephul told reporters here there was ‘no disagreement’ between the US and Germany. He said Washington was not asking for any military support until after the hostilities end.

DW