Houthi: US, UK failed to secure passage of any ship heading to Israel

Leader of the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group in Yemen, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, said yesterday that the group prevented ships associated with Israel from passing through the Gulf of Aden over the past week.

In a speech broadcast on TV, Al-Houthi said: “The Americans and the British have failed to secure the passage of any ship heading to Israel. They were unable to protect these ships. They can no longer protect even American, British ships, and this is a real and major victory for us.”

Ansar Allah fighters have repeatedly attacked Israel linked commercial ships since mid-November. Sources in the shipping and insurance sector say that since then, the Houthis have targeted ships that have commercial ties to the US, UK, or Israel.

Al-Houthi added: “The Israeli, American and British programme seeks to liquidate and end the Palestinian issue. Our operations in the Red Sea are legitimate operations to support the people of Gaza and lift the siege and starvation imposed on them.”

The Houthi group says it targeted the ships in solidarity with the Palestinians due to the genocidal war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip.

The attacks prompted many companies to stop crossing through the Red Sea and instead take a longer and more expensive route around Africa, through the Cape of Good Hope. US and UK warplanes have carried out strikes on Yemen in response to the Houthis’ actions.

The victor gets to set the conditions for peace