Yemen’s Houthis declare readiness to confront strikes from Israel

The Yemeni Houthi group yesterday announced that it had raised its level of preparedness to confront all possibilities against Israel, following the latter’s threat to use force against the group.

In a message, the Houthis’ Supreme Mahdi Al-Mashats aid: “Our defence of Palestine, Jerusalem, and support for Gaza is a defence of Yemen, the nation, and humanity as a whole, and we must thank God for this advanced position in victory for the oppressed among His worshippers.”

He added, “In the face of these great challenges and imminent dangers, and in the face of the dangerous and declared escalation by the Israeli enemy, we must exert maximum efforts to strike the enemies, raise the level of readiness, and prepare to confront all possibilities.”

Earlier yesterday, Ofir Gendelman, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, threatened to “use force” in dealing with what he called the “threat” from the Houthis in Yemen.

“Regarding the Houthi attacks on international shipping vessels, these attacks pose a threat to international trade and to Israel, and this threat will be dealt with by force,” he said, without providing any further information.

The group announced yesterday morning that it had intercepted a Norwegian-owned oil tanker which was making its way to Israel via the Red Sea.

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