Yemen’s Houthis declare “fourth phase” of naval blockade

The Houthis in Yemen threatened on Sunday evening to begin targeting any ships belonging to companies that cooperate with Israeli ports.

The Houthis’ spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement that the ships would be targeted regardless of the flag they fly.

“We warn all companies against cooperating with Israeli ports; otherwise the ships will be targeted—regardless of their destination—wherever they arrive, or within range of our missiles and drones,” he added.

Saree said that this is an escalation on the Houthis’ part in light of the situation in the Gaza Strip. He referred to his group’s step as the “fourth phase of the ‘naval blockade’” imposed by Yemen on Israel.

From November 2023 to the end of 2024, the Houthis attacked more than 100 commercial vessels with missiles and drones, sinking four of them.

Their attacks have caused a sharp decline in trade through the Red Sea, where an average of $1 trillion in goods passes annually. As part of their “campaign to support Gaza,” the Houthis have also repeatedly fired rockets at Israel. Houthis’ rockets have gone unabated, even after Israeli launched a series of airstrikes against the Yemeni group.

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