Houthis say they will target Israel-bound ships anywhere within their range
Al Jazeera
The Yemeni group says it is expanding its attacks in response to the looming Israeli assault on Rafah in southern Gaza.
Yemen’s Houthis will target ships heading to Israeli ports in any area within their range, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree has said in a televised speech.
“We will target any ships heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea in any area we are able to reach,” Saree said on Friday, adding that the decision will be implemented “immediately, and from the moment this statement is announced”.
The Iran-aligned Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile attacks on ships in the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab strait and the Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians and against Israel’s assault on Gaza.
This has forced shipping firms to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and has stoked fears that the Israeli war on Gaza could spread and destabilise the region.
In his speech, Saree also cited a looming “aggressive military operation” in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1.5 million Palestinians are now sheltering, as a reason behind the group’s decision.
