Iran-Backed Houthi Rebels Threaten To Target Israeli Ships

Houthi rebels in Yemen, backed by Iran, have warned of targeting Israeli ships in support of Hamas, another Tehran-backed militia in its war with Israel.

An unidentified source, speaking to the Iran-linked Al-Mayadeen network on Saturday, asserted the capability of their forces to target Israeli ships regardless of their location, as reported by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News agency.

The Houthi movement, officially known as Ansarullah, is an Islamist political and armed organization with support from Iran.

The unnamed source also emphasized that Yemen's armed forces aim to target all Israeli ships, whether destined for Israel or not.

Yahya Saree, the spokesperson for the Yemeni militants, and Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the spokesman for Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement, had previously stated separately that they would continue their attacks against Israeli targets until the cessation of attacks on Gaza. Israel has been pounding the enclave to uproot the Islamist group, which has made the war exceedingly bloody hiding deep among the civilian population and underneath the coastal sliver’s non-military facilities. Hamas declared war against Israel on October 7, when it killed about 1,400 mostly civilians and took over 240 hostages to Gaza.

The announcement follows the denial by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian of responsibility for a drone attack intercepted by the US Navy in the Red Sea on Wednesday. The Pentagon reported that a US Navy warship had shot down a drone originating from Yemen, without specifying the responsible party. The incident occurred after Houthi forces in Yemen, backed by Iran, had earlier vowed to target Israeli ships in the Red Sea. The Houthi attack aligns with calls by Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei, to ban the shipment of oil and food to Israel.