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The leader of the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen threatened on March 7 to resume attacks on ships affiliated with Israel if aid supplies to the Gaza Strip do not resume within four days.
“If the Israeli enemy continues after the first four days to prevent the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip… then we will resume our naval operations against the Israeli enemy,” Abdulmalik al-Huthi said in a televised address.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, fired dozens of drones and missiles at Israeli-affiliated ships and others linked to the United States and the United Kingdom in the Red Sea during the Gaza war, until calling a halt when a ceasefire started on January 19.
The ceasefire allowed aid to enter Gaza. However, earlier this month Israel halted the entrance of all aid to the Strip and threatened “additional consequences” and a return to war if the Hamas Movement continued to refuse a proposal to extend the U.S.-brokered deal.
In addition to the attacks on Israeli-affiliated ships, the Houthis launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel. In response, multiple waves of Israeli strikes hit Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. The U.S. and the UK also launched hundreds of strikes against the group.
The Houthis’ latest threat was welcomed by Hamas, which praised in a statement the rule the group played in the conflict with Israel.
“The brave decision … is an extension of the positions of support and assistance that they [the Houthis] provided over the course of 15 months of war … in Gaza”, Hamas said.
It’s worth noting that the threat comes days after the U.S. re-designated the Houthis group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and sanctioned seven of its senior figures.
The group earlier shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper combat drone over the western shores of Yemen. This was the 15th such drone to be downed by Houthi air defense fire since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza.
All in all, the Houthis, who had proven to be a capable military force, appear to be determined to support Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions in Gaza. However, with the fighting nearly over on the fronts with the Strip and Lebanon, Israel now has more resources to escalate against Yemen.
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