The Houthis Are Back And Israel Are NOT Happy!

Right, so the Ansarallah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, are back preparing to blockade the Red Sea once again, an ultimatum handed to Israel to lift their blockade of aid into Gaza of which they have 3 days left to comply or face renewed military action, action we know means not just the blockading of the Red Sea, but also means an entity with the ability to strike Israeli territory almost as far north as the Lebanese border, is prepared to begin doing so again. The Houthis have been significant players in the geopolitics of the Middle East, particularly in the context of the genocide of Gaza, as their ability to maintain strikes on Israel even when under attack themselves, their ability to blockade shipping despite having no Navy and the fact nothing seems able to ever stop them, or put them off, including the largest of US warships, means underestimating them has been a mistake repeated time after time and a terror designation from the US is unlikely to make much difference to them either.
This ultimatum for Israel from the Houthis now comes amid a seven-day blockade by Israel, which has refused to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza until its demands to alter the terms of the ceasefire are met, breaching he ceasefire and breaking their word, neither of these things ought to be surprising to anyone. The blockade has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, with innocent civilians in Gaza facing starvation as Israel weaponizes food and medical supplies for their own ends and for Benjamin Netanyahu to keep himself in power.
Right, so the Houthis are back on the scene having laid down their arms for the duration of the Gaza ceasefire and they are back with an ultimatum to Israel as a direct response to the latter’s blockade on aid to Gaza, which has now entered its seventh day. Israel has refused to allow food, water, and medical supplies into Gaza, demanding changes to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire as a precondition for lifting the blockade. Give us what we want or else and again the world is sat there doing nothing about it, not enforcing the terms of the ceasefire as agreed, just wringing their hands and saying there is nothing we can do. Well Yemen’s Houthis aren’t subscribing to that level of uselessness. Israel’s actions have been widely condemned as a violation of international law and a blatant use of starvation as a weapon of war and ift he rest of the world won’t do something, the Houthis it seems are saying they will.
The blockade of aid to people who have already suffered through and manage to survive 15 months of genocide is quite obviously going to have devastating consequences. According to the United Nations, over 80% of Gaza’s population is food insecure, and the blockade has pushed the region to the brink of famine. Hospitals are running out of essential supplies, and children are dying from malnutrition and preventable diseases. The international community has largely remained silent, with the United States and other Western powers failing to hold Israel accountable for its actions, too much Israeli influence in their upper echelons
So against that backdrop, the Houthis’ ultimatum represents an unfortunately rare instance of a regional actor taking a stand against Israel’s impunity. They will hold them to account and we know they’ll back up their words with actions, because we’ve seen them do it enough times before. The Houthis have demanded that Israel lift the blockade of aid within four days, of which they have three days left at time of writing or face military consequences.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi announced a four-day grace period for mediation efforts to try and resolve the situation, but warning that if Israel continues blocking aid to Gaza, naval operations resume, emphasizing, "We meet the siege with a siege" and that the starvation of Palestinians cannot be ignored.
Now the Houthis’ ultimatum however has comes following a controversial decision by the United States to redesignate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). This move was announced just days before the Houthis issued their ultimatum, so makes you wonder whether the US had an idea this was coming, or whether their timing was just particularly ridiculous after the Houthis had been quiet for the last 6 getting on for 7 weeks that the ceasefire has held, or held for as long as you don’t count all the breaches of it Israel have carried out. Since the Gaza ceasefire began, the Houthis have been largely inactive, refraining from attacks on Red Sea shipping and Israeli targets. Their redesignation as a terrorist group appears to be part of a broader US strategy to isolate and pressure the Houthis as the ceasefire is expected to fall completely, we know Netanyahu won’t agree to permanent peace, it’ll put him out a job, rather than a response to any specific actions because there simply haven’t been any.
The Houthis reaction to this redesignation? It doesn’t matter.
They couldn’t give a stuff what the US thinks and the group have by way of coutner simply accused the US of complicity in Israel’s crimes – a fair point - and vowed to continue their resistance. The redesignation has also raised concerns about its impact on humanitarian aid to Yemen itself, extremely poor a nation as it is, where the Houthis control large swathes of territory. Aid organizations have warned that the designation could complicate efforts to deliver essential supplies to millions of Yemenis in need, but where the US is concerned, only Israel matters, not Yemenis, not Gazans and tough if even more people starve it seems.
Israel’s blockade on aid to Gaza is a clear violation of international humanitarian law, which prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare. Therefore this is a war crime and any state not calling it out, or worse still supporting Israel, is complicit in that.
But the blockade is not merely a humanitarian issue; it is a deliberate strategy to exert pressure on Hamas and the people of Gaza. By denying access to food, water, and medical supplies, Israel is effectively using starvation as a weapon to achieve its political objectives.
In light of this, Hamas have asserted that they welcome the declaration to resume blockading the Red Sea should the aid blockade to Gaza not be lifted, having themselves issued a statement saying:
‘The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) values the decision of our brothers in Ansarallah, led by Sayyed Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, to grant the Zionist enemy a four-day ultimatum before resuming naval operations aimed at imposing a blockade on the occupation’s ports, should its fascist government continue to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid and goods into the Gaza Strip.
This courageous decision, which reflects the deep bond of our brothers in Ansar Allah and the brotherly Yemeni people with Palestine and Jerusalem, is an extension of their blessed support and steadfast backing throughout the past fifteen months of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
We call on the international community and the United Nations to take urgent action to stop the crime of starvation imposed by the occupation government against innocent civilians in Gaza by closing crossings and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid and relief.
We also urge our Arab and Islamic nations to take effective steps to break the siege on their brothers in Gaza and to work through all possible means to thwart the occupation’s fascist plan to starve them and deprive them of their right to life."’
In light of that statement, the Houthis’ ultimatum has raised questions about the extent of coordination between them and Hamas. The Houthis have long positioned themselves as defenders of the Palestinian cause, we’ve seen how they’ve backed that up previously and their ultimatum to Israel is consistent with that continuing with a preparedness to escalate again in order to exert pressure on Israel.
If the Houthis were to escalate their attacks on Israel, it could provide Hamas with a strategic advantage by diverting Israeli resources and attention away from Gaza, they have attacked Yemen before, along with the US and UK. However, such escalation could also have unintended consequences. I would say it is likely that Israel would use Houthi attacks, or even just the Red Sea blockade in and of itself, without any further attacks as a pretext to claim victimhood as they love to do and justify its continued blockade on Gaza, even as it is the one committing war crimes and violating the Gaza ceasefire. You know Western political leaders and the mainstream media will happily spin it thusly.
The Houthis’ ultimatum to Israel though however the media are choosing to portray it, where it is getting covered, is serving to highlight the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the broader geopolitical dynamics at play in the Middle East and who is backing who. Israel’s blockade on aid to Gaza is a clear violation of international law, is a violation of everything we consider right and just, nobody should support starvation, you are inhuman if you do and a blatant use of starvation as a weapon of war should carry consequences. When it is Israel though, that never happens which is why it is so important we do not stop talking about this. The United States’ redesignation of the Houthis as a terrorist group, despite their inactivity, just draws a big fat red line under the political motivations behind such decisions and they must always be called out.
If the Houthis kick off, a power shift will be readily apparent, since Israel have had no effect on stopping them before, but another power shift has also been occurring in Syria and I’m not talking the new HTS government, but groups rising up against them and Israel at the same time, as both carry out appalling atrocities though seemingly for very different reasons. Check out the details of that story in this video recommendation here as your suggested next watch. Please do also hit like share and subscribe so you don’t miss out on all new content dropping daily as well as supporting the channel at the same time which is very much appreciated, holding power to account for ordinary working class people and I will hopefully catch you on the next vid. Cheers folks.