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Houthis say stopped attacking Israel, commercial ships except Israel’s

Attacks on Israeli ships will be terminated "after all the stages of the Gaza ceasefire deal are fully implemented," movement’s deputy speaker Nasreddin Amer stressed

DUBAI, January 20. /TASS/. The Houthis from Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement have stopped pledged to stop attacking Israel as long as the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip stays in force, the movement’s deputy speaker Nasreddin Amer told TASS.

"Our operation in support for the Palestinian people inside the enemy Israeli territory have been suspended, as have been operations against ships bound to Israeli ports," he said.

At the same time, he warned that the Houthis will continue attacks on commercial ships linked with Israel, despite the Gaza ceasefire. Attacks on Israeli ships will be terminated "after all the stages of the Gaza ceasefire deal are fully implemented," he stressed.

According to Amer, the Houthi-controlled humanitarian operations coordination center, which is responsible for communication between the rebels and shipping companies, has notified shipping companies that it spots attacking all commercial ships except Israel’s and warned that such attacks will be resumed in case of any aggression against Yemen.

"The Yemeni-based humanitarian operation coordination center has notified ship owners and operators that restrictions applicable to ships bound to Israeli ports were suspended from January 19, 2025. <…> In the event of any aggression against Yemen, these restrictions will be re-imposed on states committing attacks on Yemen," he said.

However, in his words, the Houthis will continue attacking ships owned by Israel or Israeli companies, or flying the Israeli flag.

Houthi attacks

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. Since mid-November 2023, dozens of civilian ships have been attacked by the Houthi in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

In response to Ansar Allah's actions, the US authorities announced the creation of an international coalition and preparations for an operation codenamed Prosperity Guardian, expected to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. Since then, the United States and the United Kingdom have been regularly delivering strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

Houthi armed forces have launched numerous missiles and drones at Israel, which intercepted most of them. In recent days, have been attacking Israel’s central areas, including Tel Aviv, nearly every day. On December 21, 2024, Israeli Defense Forces failed to intercept a missile launched from Yemen, leaving at least 30 people wounded.

Over the period of the Middle East conflict escalation, Israel has delivered several strikes on Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen, including the Yemeni capital city of Sana, as well as the Red Sea ports of Ras Isa and Hodeida. According to the Houthi data, six people died after one of the latest Israeli attacks.