...
By Tom O'Connor
Deputy Editor, National Security and Foreign Policy
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
A representative of Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, has told Newsweek that the group had no plans to halt its missile and drone campaign against Israel despite setbacks suffered by other members of the Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance coalition.
"We are defending Gaza as a religious duty and in implementation of God's directives in the Holy Quran, regardless of the positions of others," the Ansar Allah source told Newsweek. "Only God can tell us to stop because He is the one who ordered us to fight now. This must be clear to everyone."
The remarks, which came hours after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on two back-to-back attacks from Yemen and just prior to new U.S. strikes against the group, signal Ansar Allah's determination to press on as an increasingly crucial component in the Iran-led alliance locked in battle with Israel throughout the war first launched by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Read More on News
The Lebanese Hezbollah, long viewed as the most powerful Iranian ally in the region, signed a 60-day ceasefire with Israel on November 27 following a grueling 13-month fight. That same day, Syrian rebels launched a stunning offensive that led 11 days later to the downfall of the country's longstanding government, another key Iranian partner that helped connect Axis of Resistance supply lines directly to the frontline with Israel.
While located more than 1,000 miles from Israel, Ansar Allah has proven a formidable opponent. The group has engaged in an unprecedented maritime campaign against commercial vessels accused of trading with Israel, drastically reducing traffic through major maritime routes in the Red Sea. It has also repeatedly launched attacks on Israel itself.
On Monday, the IDF reported that the Israeli Navy had intercepted a drone launched from Yemen over the Mediterranean Sea and hours later said the Israeli Air Force downed a missile also originating from Yemen.
Newsweek reached out to the IDF for comment.
...
Ansar Allah military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced Sunday that the group conducted two drone attacks "that were able to successfully bypass the interception systems and reach their targets successfully" in the Mediterranean coastal Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Tel Aviv.
Saree also said that the group had coordinated with the coalition of Iraqi militias known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a fellow Axis of Resistance member, to strike "vital targets" in southern Israel.
The IDF said Saturday it fired an interceptor toward a drone approaching the southern Red Sea port city of Eilat and that the drone "did not cross into Israel."
Last week, however, the IDF acknowledged that a drone fired from Yemen "impacted in the area of Yavne," as scenes emerged of damage to several apartment buildings in the central Israeli city.
Israel has at least twice conducted airstrikes against Yemen in response to the Ansar Allah attacks in July and September.
Ansar Allah's attacks on Israel and trade vessels have also drawn the United States directly into the conflict that has spread across the Middle East. U.S. Air Force and Navy assets deployed to the region have conducted numerous strikes against Ansar Allah equipment and positions in Yemen, sometimes in partnership with the United Kingdom.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Monday its forces "conducted a precision airstrike against a key command and control facility operated by Iran-backed Houthis within Houthi-controlled territory" in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
"The targeted facility was a hub for coordinating Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," the CENTCOM statement said. "The strike reflects CENTCOM's ongoing commitment to protect U.S. and coalition personnel, regional partners, and international shipping."
The strikes came nearly a week after CENTCOM said last Tuesday that two U.S. Navy destroyers "successfully defeated a range of Houthi-launched weapons" while "escorting three U.S. owned, operated, and flagged merchant vessels" through the Gulf of Aden.
That same day, Saree said that Ansar Allah's forces "targeted two American destroyers in the Gulf of Aden that were accompanying supply ships" using missiles and drones in an operation that "successfully achieved its objectives."
On Thursday, Ansar Allah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi hailed his forces for having "brandished our weapons" in the face of Israel and the U.S. He also called on the insurgent coalition that overthrew the pro-Axis of Resistance government in Syria to also turn its arms against Israel as the IDF seized territory in the neighboring country and intensified strikes on former military sites.
Houthi has led the group since the killing of his brother, Hussein, at the hands of Yemeni security forces two decades ago. Initially a religious movement focused on promoting Yemen's Zaidi Shiite Muslim community, Ansar Allah grew into a powerful insurgent group that captured large swathes of northern territory, including Sanaa, between late 2014 and early 2015.
Ansar Allah went on to face off with a Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemen's internationally recognized government in a civil war that has been on effective hold since a United Nations ceasefire reached in April 2022. The group has been accused by the U.S. and others, including Israel and Arab nations, of receiving direct support from Iran, which has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Houthi's latest appearance came despite U.S. special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking arguing during his recent appearance at the annual Doha Forum conference that "Houthi leaders have lowered their profiles, at least physically," over "a fear of being targeted like other leaders in the region," as cited Thursday by the United Arab Emirates-based newspaper The National.
Prior to Assad being forced out of power by rebels last week, Hamas Political Bureau chief Yahya Sinwar was slain by the IDF in Gaza in October, months after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Tehran. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, with whom Ansar Allah had forged an especially close relationship, was killed in Israeli airstrikes against southern Beirut in September.
Still, Lenderking acknowledged that such high-profile killings have not tempered Ansar Allah's "ability and their willingness and their determination to fire at ships."
"Since Hezbollah's decline and Hamas' decline, the Houthis have kept right up, kept a steady drum beat, of reckless, indiscriminate attacks," the U.S. diplomat said at the time. "But they would do well to pay heed to what's happening in the region when it comes to their own security and position."
Update 12/16/2024 5:43 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include news of new U.S. strikes against Ansar Allah in Yemen and an accompanying statement issued by U.S. Central Command.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines