Yemen's Houthis announce '4th round' of escalation against Israel amid ongoing war in Gaza

By Mohammed Sameai

SANAA, Yemen (AA) - The Yemeni group Houthi said Friday it started the fourth round against Israel as Tel Aviv announced serious preparations for a military offensive against the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

"The Houthis are preparing for a fourth round of escalation if Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip continues," the group's military spokesperson said, addressing thousands of demonstrators in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, according to Anadolu.

This came hours after the leader of the group, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said Thursday evening that there would be "a fourth round of escalation" if Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip continued.

The first round of the Houthi military escalation began last October with the targeting of sites in southern Israel with missiles and drones, before the group moved to the second phase in November last year, targeting ships belonging to or linked to Israel.

The third round involved targeting US and British ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea early this year.

The group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, revealed that the fourth phase of escalation "includes targeting all ships that violate the Israeli navigation ban and heading to the ports of occupied Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea in any area targeted by the Houthi forces."

He continued: "If the Israeli enemy launches a military offensive on Rafah, we will impose comprehensive sanctions on all ships of companies associated with supplies and entry to the ports of occupied Palestine, regardless of their nationality."

The Houthis have been targeting ships that are Israeli-owned, flagged, operated, or heading to Israeli ports in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been under a devastating Israeli offensive since Oct. 7, 2023.

With the US and UK launching retaliatory airstrikes against Houthi sites inside Yemen, the Houthis declared that they consider all American and British ships military targets.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul