President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan has led Yemen’s Houthi rebels to pause their attacks against Israel and shipping fleets in the Red Sea.
However, the rebels expressed their desire to continue their lethal attacks if the Gaza ceasefire agreement were to fall through.
“We are closely monitoring developments and declare that if the enemy resumes its aggression against Gaza, we will return to our military operations deep inside the Zionist entity, and we will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas,” Houthi militia chief of staff Yusuf Hassan al Madani wrote in an undated letter to Hamas’s Qassam Brigades.
Israel’s military declined a request from the Associated Press to comment on the matter.
Prior to the ceasefire, the Houthi rebels joined forces with the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas and targeted shipping vessels bound for Israel.
In their attempt to cut Israel’s supply, the Houthi campaign killed nine mariners and sank four cargo ships, including the Dutch-flagged cargo ship Minervagracht, which resulted in the death of one crew member and the injuries of another.
The Islamic terrorist group’s campaign led to a reduction in shipping to the region, which used to see over $1 trillion worth of goods come in through the sea.
The Houthi rebels then diverted from targeting ships and escalated their attacks on Israel. On Sept. 24, the Houthis carried out a drone attack in the coastal Israeli city of Eilat, which killed 22 Israeli civilians.
The Houthi-led terrorist campaign against merchants and civilians off the Suez Canal, the link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, cost the region a total of $6 billion alone in 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund.
THE HOUTHIS ARE DOWN BUT FAR FROM OUT
While the industry has picked up since the ceasefire agreement took place on Oct. 10, maritime merchants have continued to travel around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope instead, to avoid the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
As a result, the United States led a severe airstrike campaign against the rebel group following its terrorist operations in the region, which have come to an end due to the October ceasefire agreement.
