Anna Hudak, contributor
A new layer of the Israel-Hamas War has opened with the escalation of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Since declaring solidarity with Palestine, Houthis are using drones and anti-ship ballistic missiles to target Israeli ships heading to and from Israel. Israel is one of the Houthis’ main enemies. The United States, alongside the UK, has responded by redesignating the Houthis as a terrorist organization and conducting several sea and air strikes in Yemen, making the United States also a main enemy of the Houthis. According to Reuters, the Axis of Resistance, a coalition led by Iran that opposes Western and Israeli influence, which includes Iran, Houthis and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, have directly supported the Houthis attacks in the Red Sea.
According to the BBC, the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), are a militant group in Yemen, created as a movement of resistance against Ali Abdullah Saleh, who served as the president of Yemen for 33 years. After Saleh was removed from power in 2012, the Houthis gained de facto control of most of western Yemen, opposing Yemen’s internationally recognized government under the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC). Ever since 2014, Yemen has been locked in a civil war which has displaced many of its people and caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
According to the BBC, the location of Yemen at the Bab el-Mandeb strait, between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, accounts for 12% of global trade. Due to the recent attacks, many major shipping companies including Maersk, Evergreen and BP Petroleum have suspended shipments or redirected their ships around the Cape of Good Hope. This has drastically increased the cost and time of shipping, with ships taking 10 additional days or longer to reach their destination. According to Reuters, the effects of the Houthis attacks are already taking effect in Israel with Port Eilat, Israel’s main port, reporting an 85% decrease in shipping activity since the Houthi attacks started.
The U.S. and UK response to Houthi attacks have been defended as an effort to preserve the right to free trade and freedom of navigation, but have been less than effective in slowing the aggression in the Red Sea. According to Reuters, over 20 countries came together in Nov. 2023 to form Operation Prosperity Guardian, whose mission is to protect international trade in the Red Sea. However, U.S. and UK attacks have also been criticized as a use of disproportionate force by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova backed this by calling the attacks a “perversion of UN Security Council resolutions” in a quote from Reuters.
Despite conceding the United States’ ineffectiveness, Biden has confirmed that strikes targeting Houthi will continue. Despite repeated warnings and strikes from the U.S., the Houthis remain undeterred. According to the New York Times, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Houthi movement, stated in a televised interview, “American-British aggression will contribute more and more to developing our military capabilities even further.” As of now, there does not appear to be an end in sight to attacks in the Red Sea.