Houthis issue warning to Israeli ships

Yemen’s Houthi group said Tuesday that they are resuming a ban on the passage of all Israeli ships in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait after a four-day deadline they gave Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip expired.

Israel halted all aid supplies into Gaza on March 2 and, on Sunday, cut off electricity to the region, prompting a sharp response from Yemen’s Houthi movement.

“Any Israeli vessel attempting to violate this ban will be subject to military targeting in the declared operational area,” the Houthis said in a statement posted on social media.

The description of what constitutes Israeli in yesterday’s statement was deemed ambiguous by Ambrey, a British maritime security specialist.

Ambrey is advising merchant shipping to check their affiliation with the Houthi target profile, and to reassess the risk to voyages through the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.

After more than 100 ships were attacked from late 2023 and throughout last year, the Houthis had ceased its campaign against merchant shipping this year, in line with the tentative peace deal struck between Israel and Hamas.