Houthis Vow to Resume Attacks on Israeli Ships Over Aid to Gaza

The Houthi militant group in Yemen announced it would immediately resume attacks on Israeli ships for the first time in about two months over Israel’s decision to bar aid from entering Gaza. 

“Any Israeli ship that tries to defy the ban in the announced operation areas will be targeted,” said Yahya Saree, spokesman for the group, designated as a terrorist organization by the US. “This ban will last until crossings to the Gaza Strip are reopened” and humanitarian aid including food and medicine are allowed in, he added. 

The “ban” involves vessels passing through the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden. Israel has not formally reacted to the threats. 

The Iran-backed Houthis engaged in missile and drone attacks on cargo ships and other vessels sailing in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for more than a year, rattling global freight markets. The campaign began after the Hamas assault on Israel in October 2023 triggered the war in Gaza.

The Houthis, who are from the Yemen’s north and whose seizure of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014 touched off a civil war, had imposed a four-day “ultimatum” on Israel.

After a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict went into effect in January, the Houthis suggested they could cease attacks on US- and UK-linked vessels. Both countries carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen during the conflict.

Despite a pause in the frequent rocket and drone assaults, most major Western shipping companies say they’d need more reassurance before they’re ready to sail through the region again. Renewed attacks would further discourage a resumption of commerce.

Earlier: Red Sea Ship Traffic Is Yet to Pick Up as Ceasefire Risks Swirl

The announcement could also slow down the gradual recovery of the Suez Canal, a key source of hard currency for Egypt. The waterway’s receipts dropped by about 60% as a result of the assaults, with losses expected to be some $7 billion for the financial year ending in June.

In January, President Donald Trump signed an order to once again categorize the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

A six-week Gaza truce, involving limited exchanges of hostages and bodies of hostages for hundreds of Palestinians jailed by Israel, expired on March 2, with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas divided on conditions for an open-ended suspension of hostilities and further exchange of captives. 

Israel has since halted the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods to the strip, and said more restrictions would be in store as long as the Palestinian faction balks at its core terms.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has accused Hamas of hijacking assistance trucks and turning “aid into weapons.”

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi had announced the ultimatum last week, only for Israel to halt its already limited supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip shortly after, a move the government called a response to the Hamas hostage crisis.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.