On March 28, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis announced they had launched a barrage of ballistic missiles toward Israel overnight, Reuters reported the same day. The Israel Defense Forces announced they had intercepted a ballistic missile coming from Yemen toward the south of the country overnight.

Since the onset of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, the Houthis had refrained from joining the fight. However, the group had recently signaled that it was not neutral and would intervene when it deemed it necessary.