Houthis warn attacks on merchant ships could resume tomorrow

The Houthis in Yemen issued an ultimatum to Israel on Friday, repeating it yesterday. Unless Israel resumes shipments of humanitarian aid into Gaza by Tuesday, the Houthis will resume attacks on ships. 

“If the Israeli enemy continues after the first four days to prevent the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip … then we will resume our naval operations against the Israeli enemy,” Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi warned in a televised address on Friday.

The Israeli government announced on March 2 that it had suspended all humanitarian aid to Gaza after Hamas rejected the ceasefire extension proposed by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

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

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.