Posted on 03/07/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
The leader of Yemen's Houthi rebels, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, declared on Friday that his group would resume attacks against Israel if the blockade preventing aid from reaching Gaza is not lifted within four days, Reuters reported.
"We will give a deadline for four days. This deadline is for the (Gaza ceasefire) mediators for their efforts," al-Houthi stated.
"If the Israeli enemy after four days continues to prevent the humanitarian aid into Gaza and continues to completely close the crossings, we will resume our naval operations against the Israeli enemy," he added.
The Houthi rebels have upped their attacks in the region since October of 2023, having launched drones and ballistic missiles towards cities in Israel while also targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea region, in support for Gazans.
The Houthis halted their launches towards Israel with the start of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.
After the first phase of the deal ended, al-Houthi threatened that the rebels would resume their attacks on Israel if the war in Gaza were to resume.
"We are constantly monitoring the situation in Gaza and see that the Israeli enemy is evading full commitment to the agreement [with Hamas]. The enemy's evasion of withdrawing from Rafah is a serious violation of the agreement. This is a threat to the Palestinian people and to the Egyptian people, government, and army. We were ready for military intervention when Trump threatened to bring back the war in Gaza if Hamas did not release the hostages," he said.
In the wake of the uptick in Houthi attacks, the US during the Biden administration formed a coalition, made up of more than 20 countries, aimed at safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis.
The coalition has repeatedly targeted Houthi facilities and weapons systems in Yemen, but the Houthis have been unfazed by the strikes and have vowed to continue their attacks.