Yemen's Houthis to continue attack

17/1/2025 6:14

The leader of Yemen's

Iran-aligned Houthis said on Thursday his group would monitor

the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas

aimed at ending the 15-month war in Gaza and continue its

attacks on vessels or Israel if the deal is breached.



The Houthi militia, who had on an almost-weekly basis

targeted ships using ballistic missiles and drones in waters

near Yemen's shores to show their solidarity with the

Palestinians, had long said they would cease these operations if

the conflict ended.



The ceasefire is expected to take hold on Sunday.



"We will continue to monitor developments in Palestine

during the three days prior to the entry into force of the Gaza

agreement. If the Israeli massacres continue, we will continue

our operations," the Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said

in a televised speech.



"At any stage in which the aggression retreats from the

agreement, we will be ready to provide military support to our

Palestinian brothers," he said.



The Houthi attacks, which started in November 2023, have

disrupted international commerce, forcing some ships to take the

long route around southern Africa rather than the Suez Canal,

leading to an increase in insurance rates, delivery costs and

time that stoked fears of a new bout of global inflation.



The Houthis, who control most parts of Yemen, including the

capital Sanaa since seizing power in late 2014, have sunk two

vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers.



The armed group has also launched missiles and drones

towards Israel, hundreds of kilometres to the north. Israel has

responded by striking Houthi areas on several occasions,

including last week when Israeli warplanes bombed two ports and

a power station.



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month

Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the

Houthis.



The United States alongside Britain launched in December

2023 a multinational operation to safeguard commerce in the Red

Sea, and have repeatedly conducted air strikes on Houthi

strongholds targeting weapons storage facilities.



The EU later in February launched its own Red Sea mission,

known as Aspides, to deter intensified Houthi attacks and help

protect the key maritime trade route.



The Houthis appear to be the latest standing component of

Iran's anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional

militias, known as the Axis of Resistance, which includes Hamas,

Lebanon's Hezbollah and Shi'ite armed groups in Iraq.



Israel has dealt serious blows to Hamas and Lebanon's

Hezbollah, killing their top leaders and reducing their

arsenals. In the aftermath, the decades-long regime of Bashar

al-Assad in Syria was also toppled.