Yemen’s Houthis announced on Tuesday night that it has re-imposed its blockade on Israeli shipping in response to Israel blocking the entry of aid and all other goods into Gaza.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said that any Israeli ship that enters the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden will be targeted.
Saree said the “ban” on Israeli ships entering those waters will continue until “the crossings to the Gaza Strip are reopened and aid, food, and medicine are allowed in.”
The announcement came after Houthi Abdul Malik al-Houthi issued an ultimatum to Israel on Friday, saying the attacks would resume if aid wasn’t allowed to enter Gaza within four days.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, ceased their attacks on Israel and Israeli-linked shipping once the Gaza ceasefire deal was reached. But the group had vowed that it was ready to intervene if Israel violated the agreement.
Renewed Houthi attacks could mean the US will 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.
