Since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the Houthis, who are part of the resistance axis supported by Iran, have rallied behind the Palestinians by launching at least 6 drone and missile attacks towards southern Israel, and recently followed them up by hijacking an Israeli ship.
In a remarkable development, the Yemeni Houthi group said on Sunday that it had “captured an Israeli ship” in the Red Sea and taken it to the Yemeni coast, while Tel Aviv denied the presence of Israelis among its crew.
This came after the group vowed to target ships owned or operated by Israeli companies, “in support of the Gaza Strip,” which is subjected to a devastating war, calling on countries to withdraw their citizens working on the crews of these ships.
While the Israeli army considered the incident “extremely dangerous globally,” the Israeli Prime Minister described it as an “Iranian terrorist act,” while Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani denied Israel’s allegations of Iran’s involvement in the detention process, and said that the Israeli allegations regarding Iran’s involvement in the incident aim to To divert attention from its “deplorable defeat” in its battle against the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip.
Entering the front line
At the end of October, the Houthi group officially announced that it was behind the launching of missiles and marches towards Israel in response to the ongoing Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip, while the military spokesman for the Houthis, Yahya Saree, said at the time: “In victory for the historical oppression of the Palestinian people, the Yemeni armed forces launched a large batch of Ballistic and winged missiles and drones targeted targets of the Israeli enemy in the occupied territories.”
The head of the Houthi government, Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, said: “We are part of the axis of resistance,” adding: “We participate by word, word, and marches.” He pointed out that "it is one axis, and there is coordination taking place, a joint operations room, and a joint command for all these operations," stressing that "we cannot allow this arrogant Zionist enemy to kill our people without supervision."
In addition to the missiles and drones that Israel and American forces intercepted in the Red Sea, most of them during their journey, which extended to more than 1,600 kilometers from northern Yemen, the Houthi group said in a televised statement, on Sunday, that “the naval forces of the Yemeni armed forces carried out a military operation in the Red Sea.” Military spokesman Yahya Saree explained, “One of the results of this operation was the seizure of an Israeli ship and taking it to the Yemeni coast.”
In a statement through his account on the He also called on all countries to "remove their citizens working on the crews of these ships, avoid shipping on board or dealing with them, and inform your ships to stay away from these ships."
Last week, the Houthis shot down an American drone, which they said was flying over Yemeni territorial waters and spying on their forces. The US State Department acknowledged the attack. The Houthi leader warned against launching strikes on American interests in the region if Washington became directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, according to the Associated Press .
The #Yemeni military media publishes scenes from a military operation carried out by Houthi forces yesterday, Sunday, in the Red Sea, controlling a ship suspected of being owned by an Israeli businessman and taking it to the Yemeni coast.
The movement, named after its founder Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi, arose in the early 2000s in response to what its members saw as the marginalization of the Zaidi community and the encroachment of Yemeni sovereignty by external powers. The Houthis adopt an ideology driven by the desire to resist foreign interference, especially US intervention in the region. The movement received support from certain segments of the Yemeni population, especially in the northwestern part of the country.
Since its inception, the Houthi movement has witnessed major military expansion, culminating in its seizure of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, in 2014. This marked a turning point in the Yemeni conflict, leading to a long and devastating war that included various local and regional parties.
Since September 2014, the Houthis have controlled a large part of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, and key strategic areas in the north and west. Their influence extends to areas such as Saada, Amran, and Hajjah governorates. The group also controls the strategic coastal governorate of Hodeidah in the west of the country, which has the most important port in Yemen through which about 70% of imports and aid arriving into the country pass, according to what was reported by Anatolia Agency .
While Iran praises the Houthis as part of the regional "axis of resistance," experts on Yemeni affairs say that the movement is mainly driven by internal problems, even though it closely shares a political vision with Iran and Hezbollah. The Houthis deny rumors that they are puppets of Iran and say they are fighting a corrupt regime, according to Reuters .
The military capabilities of the Houthis
The Houthis' arsenal has grown in size and diversity since 2014. Arms experts say the Houthis possess long-range ballistic missiles, smaller cruise missiles and suicide drones, all of which are capable of reaching southern Israel.
As far as is known, the Houthis have one missile capable of striking Israel, which is the “Toofan” missile, which the Houthis revealed only a month ago in a military parade in Yemen, and its range ranges between 1,700 and 1,800 kilometers.
The Israeli Intelligence Information Center (ITIC) previously indicated that the Houthis possess effective ballistic missiles of the “Quds 2” and “Quds 3” models, with a range of between 1,300-2,000 kilometers, and they can effectively hit targets in Israel, which is more than more than a mile away from Yemen. 1,500 kilometers, according to the Hebrew website Mako .
The Houthis also have a huge arsenal of drones that may be effective and reach Israel, such as: “Samad 3,” which has a range of 1,500-2,000 kilometers, and “Samad 4,” which has a range of more than 2,000 kilometers, as well as the “Waid” drone, which has a range of 1,500-2,000 kilometers. Its range ranges between 2000-2200 km. In addition, the Houthis also have Iranian Shahed 136 suicide drones capable of striking targets at a distance of up to 2,200 kilometers.
In addition to the missile and drone arsenal, the Houthis have naval capabilities that enable them to target any ships passing off Yemen in the Red Sea. In addition to combat boats and self-driving boats, the Houthis also possess naval missiles, both offensive and defensive, and various sea mines.
Terrifying Israeli massacres a thousand Palestinian martyrs within 24 hours in the continuous bombing of Gaza
Gaza: A Palestinian government official announced on Tuesday that about a thousand Palestinians were killed in the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours.
The director of the government media office in Gaza, Ismail Al-Thawabta, said that the occupation army escalated its air and artillery attacks by targeting the destruction of homes above the heads of their residents, leading to the successive killing of dozens.
He explained that about a thousand martyrs were monitored during the past 24 hours alone, in a bloody toll, including 600 in the Indonesian hospital in the northern Gaza Strip as a result of sporadic Israeli attacks.
Al-Thawabta pointed out that at least 20 people were martyred in an Israeli raid that targeted a house in the Nuseirat camp, which was the home of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, Abdul-Azim Al-Hajj, while he was on duty at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.
It was also announced that dozens of martyrs and wounded were recovered in an intense Israeli bombardment that targeted a residential square in the town of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, and included the destruction of at least eight homes above the heads of their residents.