Houthi Leader Vows Yemen Will Join ‘Axis of Resistance’ in Attack on Israel

 

The Houthis want to respond to the Israeli bombing of Hodeidah

by Dave DeCamp August 8, 2024 at 6:14 pm ET 

CategoriesNewsTagsYemen

On Thursday, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi vowed the Yemeni group will coordinate with the “Axis of Resistance” in an attack on Israel in response to Israeli escalations in the region.

The axis includes Iran, Hezbollah, Shia militias that operate in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis, who are officially known as Ansar Allah. Iran is vowing revenge for the Israeli killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hezbollah is warning it will escalate in response to the Israeli airstrike that killed one of its top military commanders in Beirut.

Al-Houthi said Ansar Allah would respond to the July 20 Israeli bombing of Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah, which killed six people and caused about $20 million in damage. Israel launched the strikes after a Houthi drone hit Tel Aviv and killed one person.

Flames and smoke rise from the site of Israeli air strikes at the port of Hodeidah, Yemen July 21, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer

“The inevitable response to the Israeli aggression that targeted the fuel tanks in Hodeidah port is a must, and it is coming, God willing,” al-Houthi said, according to Al Mayadeen.

Al-Houthi said the delay in the response from the axis to the Israeli escalations was a tactical decision. “The decision to respond is a collective decision across the entire axis, and within each front independently,” he said.

The Houthi leader said there was a diplomatic push by the US, Europe, and some Arab countries to contain the response, but said Iran was undeterred, saying, “the matter touches upon the honor of the Islamic Republic by the killing of its guest in its capital.”

Al-Houthi also touted recent Houthi attacks on US assets in the region, including the downing of a US MQ-9 Reaper drone. The US continues to bomb Yemen and intercept Houthi missiles and drones on a near-daily basis.

The latest US strikes on Yemen targeted the Hodeidah province on Thursday. US Central Command claimed on Wednesday that it launched strikes in Yemen that destroyed two Houthi drones, a ground control station, and three anti-ship cruise missiles. The US bombing campaign has done nothing to stop Houthi attacks on shipping in the region and has only escalated the situation.

The US has acknowledged that the Houthis would stop their attacks if there were a ceasefire in Gaza. But the Biden administration has refused to put real pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire and continues to provide military aid and political support, emboldening Israeli escalations in the region.

The US-backed Saudi/UAE war against the Houthis from 2015-2022 involved heavy airstrikes and a blockade, and the Houthis only became a more capable fighting force during that time.

The war killed at least 377,000 people, with more than half dying of starvation and disease caused by the siege. A ceasefire between the Houthis and Saudis has held relatively well since April 2022, but new US sanctions are now blocking the implementation of a lasting peace deal.

https://news.antiwar.com/2024/08/08/houthi-leader-vows-yemen-will-join-axis-of-resistance-in-attack-on-israel/