Illustrative image.
The Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen announced on July 27 that they will target any ships belonging to companies that do business with Israeli ports, regardless of their nationalities, as part of what it called the fourth phase of its military operations against Israel in support of the Gaza Strip.
In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree warned that ships would be attacked if companies ignored their warnings, regardless of their destination.
Previously, the group, which is backed by Iran, attacked only ships that are directly tied to Israel through ownership or port calls.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces warn all companies to cease their dealings with Israeli ports starting from the moment this statement is issued. Otherwise, their ships, regardless of their destination, will be targeted anywhere within reach or within the range of our missiles and drones,” the spokesman said.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces call on all countries to, if they want to avoid this escalation, pressure the enemy to halt its aggression and lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip. No free person on this earth can accept what is happening,” he added.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis have launched around 65 ballistic missiles and 17 suicide drones at targets in Israel. The group also sank two ships directly linked to Israel in the Red Sea.
Israel carried out six waves of strikes targeting civilian infrastructure in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in response, but the group was not deterred.
The Houthi announcement could be used by Israel as a pretext for more escalation against Yemen. Recent Hebrew media reports revealed that Israel was a major, broad-based operation against the Houthis, on a scale of its recent attack on Iran, and with the aim of neutralizing the threat posed by the group for an extended period.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
