Yemen Houthis say they will target ships heading for Israel anywhere within range

Thousands of demonstrators gather at the Sebin Street after Friday prayers to show solidarity with Palestinians and protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza, following a call of the Iranian-backed Houthis in Sanaa, Yemen on March 08, 2024. [Mohammed Hamoud – Anadolu Agency]

Yemen’s Houthis will target ships heading to Israeli ports in any area that is within their range, military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said in a televised speech on Friday, Reuters reports.

“We will target any ships heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea in any area we are able to reach,” he said.

The Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile strikes on ships in the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November to show their support for the Palestinians in the Gaza war.

This has forced shippers to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and has stoked fears that the Israel-Palestine war could spread and destabilise the Middle East.

READ: Yemen Houthis say they have attacked 107 ships since November

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