Despite a latest cease-fire that halted weeks of intense US navy strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the group confirmed they’ll proceed concentrating on Israeli ships within the Red Sea, a senior official advised Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday.
Abdulmalik Alejri, a member of the Houthi political bureau, clarified that whereas the cease-fire protects all worldwide delivery, Israeli vessels are excluded from the settlement.
“The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones,” he advised AFP. “Israel is not part of the deal – it only includes American and other foreign ships.”
The Houthis, who’ve managed a lot of Yemen for over a decade, escalated their assaults on Israeli-linked delivery in November 2023, shortly after the Israel-Hamas battle broke out.
Their marketing campaign later expanded to focus on vessels tied to the U.S. and Britain following navy strikes by these nations in January 2024.
Alejri emphasised that the Houthis would now focus solely on attacking Israeli ships, a shift from their earlier technique, which included vessels with even oblique ties to Israel.
Iran’s international ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, welcomed the cease-fire and praised Yemen’s “legendary resistance” in opposition to U.S. aggression.
Saudi Arabia additionally lauded the settlement, with an announcement from its international ministry expressing help.
The US-Houthi cease-fire got here after Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday destroyed Sanaa airport in retaliation for a Houthi missile strike on Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.
Khaled alShaief, director of Sanaa airport, advised Al-Masirah tv that Israeli strikes prompted $500 million in harm, together with destruction to terminal buildings.
Oman facilitated the cease-fire settlement, making certain that neither the U.S. nor the Houthis would goal the opposite, preserving freedom of navigation within the area.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who is ready to go to Gulf international locations subsequent week, hailed the settlement as a victory. “The Houthis have capitulated,” he mentioned. “They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that’s… the purpose of what we were doing.”
The cease-fire adopted a month of escalated U.S. navy operations in opposition to the Houthis, together with airstrikes that killed at the very least 300 folks, in line with Houthi sources. The Pentagon reported that over 1,000 targets in Yemen had been struck since mid-March as a part of Operation “Rough Rider.”
Alejri famous that latest U.S.-Iran talks in Muscat allowed for oblique negotiations between Washington and Sanaa, paving the best way for the cease-fire.
He reiterated the rebels’ stance, saying, “America was the one who started the aggression against us, and at its beginning, we did not resume our operations on Israel.”
Houthi missile and drone assaults have sharply lowered cargo shipments by the Red Sea, a significant commerce route answerable for round 12% of worldwide maritime commerce.
The Houthis defend their actions as solidarity with the Palestinians, citing their ongoing assaults on Gaza as a part of their broader marketing campaign.
Source: www.dailysabah.com