The leader of Yemen’s Houthis has given Israel a deadline to lift its blockade on Gaza, warning that Yemeni “naval operations” against Israel could restart.
Abdul Malik al-Houthi issued the ultimatum on Friday, suggesting Houthi attacks on Israel-linked shipping could start on Tuesday. “We meet the siege with a siege,” Houthi said, according to The Cradle.
He added that Yemen “cannot stand by and watch the Israeli enemy’s aggressive approach in starving the Palestinian people in Gaza.” On Sunday, Israel tightened the siege on Yemen by cutting electricity.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, ceased their attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping after the Gaza and ceasefire deal was reached but had vowed to intervene if Israel violated the agreement.
If the Houthis start attacking again, that means the US might resume its bombing campaign against Yemen. From January 2024 to January 2025, the Biden administration launched hundreds of missile strikes on Yemen, which didn’t deter the Houthis and only escalated the situation in the Red Sea.
So far, under the new Trump administration, the US has not bombed the Houthis but appears to be preparing for the possibility. The administration has re-designated the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” and slapped new sanctions on the group on Wednesday.
President Trump also recently loosened restrictions on drone strikes and special operations raids, and US officials said the move was made with the Houthis in mind as a potential target, along with al-Shabaab in Somalia, which US Africa Command has targeted at least three times under the new Trump administration.
From 2015 to 2022, the US supported the brutal Saudi/UAE war against the Houthis, which involved heavy airstrikes, a ground campaign, and a blockade. According to the UN, the war killed at least 377,000 people, with more than half dying of starvation and disease caused by the siege.
