Houthis insist on 3 Gaza-related conditions to halt Red Sea attacks

By Aziz Al-Ahmadi

SANAA (AA) - Yemen’s Houthi group on Thursday said it will not stop its attacks in the Red Sea until Israel ends its war on Gaza, lifts the siege and allows the entry of humanitarian aid to all parts of the Palestinian enclave.

“We reaffirm that Yemen's position remains steadfast alongside Gaza until the cessation of the Israeli aggression, the lifting of the blockade, and the entry of aid to all parts of the strip,” the group's spokesperson, Mohammed Abdul Salam, said on X.

“Yemen will not abandon this position and considers it a religious, moral, and humanitarian responsibility,” he added.

The Houthis have been targeting Israeli-linked cargo ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in solidarity with the Palestinians since last November.

The strikes, in solidarity with Palestinians facing Israeli bombardments in Gaza, have disrupted international trade on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

In response, the US and UK militaries have carried out joint attacks against the Houthis.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the embassies of the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand called on the Houthis to stop their attacks, saying that they only lead to “destabilizing the region and harming the Yemeni people.”

Israel has imposed an air, land and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007. It started its war on Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border incursion by Hamas, killing more than 31,000 Palestinians and pushing the territory to the brink of famine.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul