Thousands of Yemenis stage rallies across Houthi-controlled region in support of Palestinians in Gaza

An aerial view of crowd as people gather to show solidarity with Palestinians and protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza in Sana’a, Yemen on February 2024. [Mohammed Hamoud – Anadolu Agency]

Thousands of Yemenis held mass rallies across the Houthi-controlled region on Friday in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza, which is currently under siege and has been subjected to intensified Israeli military attacks since 7 October, Anadolu Agency reports.

People took to the streets of various cities and towns controlled by the Houthi group, with the main protest taking place in the capital, Sana’a, under the banner “Committed to Gaza until victory”, said an Anadolu reporter on the ground.

Yemeni demonstrators at the rally in Sana’a waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans condemning Israel’s war on Gaza.

During the rally, Houthi leaders vowed to continue supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza and take action, said a statement issued by the group following the rally, with a clear reference to attacks on commercial vessels bound for Israel.

READ: US downs several Houthi drones in new strikes on Yemen

The statement also urged peoples in the Arab, and other Islamic countries to put pressure on their governments to adopt clear positions in support of Gaza.

Rallies were also staged in Hudaydah in western Yemen, as well as Hajjah and Saada in the country’s north-western provinces, the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported.

Tensions have escalated in the Red Sea amid Houthis attacks on commercial ships suspected of having links with Israel.

The Houthi group says the attacks aim to pressure Israel to halt its deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 27,131 people and injured 66,287 others since a 7 October cross-border offensive by the Palestinian group, Hamas.

The US and UK launched airstrikes as of 12 January against Houthi targets in Yemen in retaliation for the Houthi attacks, which have created fears of a new bout of inflation and supply chain disruption.

The Red Sea is one of the world’s most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments.

READ: Houthis target commercial US ship heading to Israel

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.