Houthis respond to plans by US to establish new maritime protection force in the Red Sea

#RedSea
#BabelMandeb
#Israel
Houthis in Yemen have released a new statement, after reports the US is planning to establish a new maritime protection force in the Red Sea.

Houthis have been carrying out attacks on commercial ships passing through those waters.

They say they're targeting ships linked to Israel, in protest against military actions in Gaza. In a statement, a prominent Houthi commander said 'any escalation in Gaza is an escalation in the Red Sea, and any calm in Gaza is considered a calm in the Red Sea.'

He went on to say 'any country or party that comes between us and Palestine, we will confront it'.

Hussain Al Bukhaiti is a political analyst aligned with the Houthi movement.
He says the US getting further involved in the Red Sea could see those waters turned into a battle zone. The Houthi attacks led to naval crisis on the Red Sea.
Major shipping firms are suspending passage through the Bab al-Mandab strait following a series of attacks by Iran backed Houthi fighters.