A former high-ranking Houthi official said the Iran-backed Yemeni terror group’s recent drone strike on Tel Aviv was “a grave mistake.”

Speaking during an exclusive interview with Israel Hayom on Sunday, the ex-official said that support for the Palestinians could have been given through financial aid, media campaigns or humanitarian aid, as has been done by other Arab countries. Instead, he argued, entering a direct confrontation with Israel endangers the Yemeni civilian population, which is already dealing with its own humanitarian crisis.

"The Houthis are exploiting tens of millions of Yemenis as human shields when they fire rockets and kill Israeli civilians,” he said. “This action will lead to the port's bankruptcy. The core conflict is between Israel and the Palestinians; we have no direct dispute with Israel.”

The former official added that the Houthis lack even a basic air defense system to protect civilians from retaliatory attacks from Israel.

He criticised Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, leader of the terrorist group, for launching rockets “despite being unable to down even a single Israeli aircraft.” He also expressed concern that Israel could impose a naval and air blockade on Yemen, the consequences of which would see civilians suffer the most.

Israeli airstrikes shook the Red Sea port city of Hodeida on 20 July, just a day after a Houthi drone killed one person and injured a dozen more in Tel Aviv. The Israeli attack, described by the IDF as a “response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the state of Israel in recent months,” targeted military assets used by the Iran-backed terror group.