Houthis threaten new attacks on Israel if ceasefires with Hamas and Hezbollah end

The Houthi terrorist leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi threatened on Tuesday to resume attacks on Israel if the fragile ceasefires with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza end. 

“If the occupation escalates, we will stand with the Lebanese people,” al-Houthi stated in an interview in Yemen.

“We reaffirm our commitment to supporting the Palestinian people – militarily, politically and in public advocacy. We are ready for military intervention if Israel intensifies its aggression against Gaza,” he continued. 

The Iranian-backed Houthi leader further claimed that “Israelis must understand that no matter how much they rely on the Americans, they will not achieve their goals if they choose escalation. The Israeli enemy is delaying the implementation of the second phase of the agreement. If they escalate, they will be met with determination and resilience from the Palestinian people.”

The Houthi terror militia has launched over 300 drone and missile attacks on Israel since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

In addition, the Houthis have also attacked international commercial vessels in the strategically important Red Sea region. The Houthis have claimed that they are “defending Gaza” with their unprovoked attacks on Israel. 

Following the internationally brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in January, the Houthis announced they would limit their attacks to Israeli-affiliated vessels in the Red Sea. 

"In the event of any aggression ... the sanctions will be reinstated against the aggressor state," the Houthis threatened. "You will be promptly informed of such measures should they be implemented."

Referring to the attacks on Israeli ships, the Houthis argued at the time that "sanctions ... will be stopped upon the full implementation of all phases."

However, the Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree stressed that the Yemen-based terror militia would support Hamas in its efforts to “expel the Israeli enemy.”

“The goal is to liberate every inch of Palestine,” Saree concluded, a code expression for Israel’s destruction. 

During much of the Iranian-led war against the Jewish state, Israel focused on targeting the Iranian terrorist proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. In comparison, the Yemen-based Houthis were long considered a distant nuisance by Israeli political and military leaders.

However, following repeated Houthi attacks on Israel including the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, Israel eventually decided that it needed to respond forcefully.

Following a lethal Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv in July 2024, the Israeli Air Force struck Houthi targets in Yemen including the Houthi controlled Hodeidah port in the Red Sea from where the Houthis receive much of their military equipment from the Iranian regime. 

In September, Israel launched an even bigger aerial strike on strategic Houthi targets across Yemen. 

“In a large-scale air operation today (Sunday), dozens of air force aircraft, including fighter jets, refueling and intelligence planes… attacked targets used by the Houthi terrorist regime in the areas of Ras Issa and Hodeida in Yemen,” the Israel Defense Forces announced after the September attack. 

In December, the Israeli Air Force launched its largest aerial attack to date on Houthi targets in Yemen, striking the airport and the Houthi-controlled capital Sana’a. 

“The Houthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror, and their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world,” the IDF stated. “The Houthi terrorist regime operates as an autonomous terrorist group while relying on Iranian cooperation and funding to carry out its attacks."