Israel threatens air and naval blockade on Yemen's Houthis

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said if the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen continue attacks on the Jewish state, they will respond with a naval and air blockade.

The warning follows overnight strikes on Monday, which for the first time saw Israel's navy target Yemen's Hodeidah Port in retaliation for continued strikes against Israel in the wake of the Gaza war, and a maritime blockade in the Red Sea.

"We warned the Houthi terrorist organization that if they continue to fire at Israel, they will receive a powerful response and enter a naval and air blockade. That's what we did today - and we will continue to do so in the future," Katz said.

According to the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV, Israel targeted the docks of Hodeidah port with two strikes.

Israel's military said: “The port has been struck by the IDF over the past year and continues to be used for terrorist purposes," saying it has been used to transfer weapons for the group, designated as a foreign terrorist organization by countries including the US.

The Houthis have become a serious force in the region. The Council of Foreign Relations says that “Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement has become one of the Middle East’s most potent non-state actors since Israel’s war against Hamas reignited in 2023”.

The Israeli military told Iran International that over 43 missiles have been launched against the Jewish state since January alone.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, Yemen’s Houthis have launched missiles, rockets, and drones toward Israel and enforced a maritime disruption in the Red Sea, in what it describes as support for Palestinians in Gaza. One of the most recent projectiles narrowly missed Israel’s main airport last month.

“Over the past year and a half, the Houthi terrorist regime has been aggressively operating under Iranian direction and funding in order to harm the State of Israel and its allies, undermining regional stability and disrupting global freedom of naval navigation,” the Israeli military said, warning of further strikes to come.

On Tuesday morning, Nasruddin Amer, from the Houthis' media authority, said on X that the latest strikes have "no significant impact on our operations in support of Gaza, nor on preparations for escalation and expansion of operations deep inside the Zionist enemy entity [Israel]".