Tel Aviv: The Israeli Navy and Air Force are on high alert to act against any attempt of the Houthi rebels in Yemen to attack Israeli cargo ships in the Red Sea.
This comes after the spokesman for the Iran-backed militia in Yemen, declared that the maritime blockade on Israel would continue “for another month, until the crossings into Gaza are opened for humanitarian aid.”
He added, “The Yemeni forces salute the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, and affirm that they stand alongside the Palestinian resistance.”
During their campaign against ships, which lasted from November 2023 to January of this year, the rebels used drones and missiles to target more than 100 merchant vessels, sinking two of them and killing four sailors.
An Israeli submarine is now in the Red sea along surface vessels of the Israeli Navy.
In the past the Houthis launched missiles and armed drones to hit Israel and were attacked by the Israeli air force.
President Donald Trump issued an order immediately after taking office, and the State Department executed it March 11, restoring the “foreign terrorist organisation” label for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, declared that the government had reinstated the classification, which entails that anybody who gives the group “material support” faces consequences.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
