Houthi supporters rally to show support to Palestinian factions, in Sanaa, Yemen, October 7, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo)
In response to some of the world’s largest shipping companies stating they would stop using a key Red Sea route because of attacks by Houthis in Yemen, a member of the Houthi political bureau said any hostile moves against Yemen would have “dire consequences and great costs.”
The Houthi official, Ali al-Qahoum, told Al Mayadeen TV late on Friday that hostile moves against the Houthis in Yemen, an Iran-backed terror proxy, would continue its operations against Israel.
“The Houthis will not abandon the Palestinian cause, regardless of any U.S., Israeli, or Western threats,” al-Qahoum said, according to Reuters. “Yemen is ready with all defensive options to respond to any American, Israeli or Western hostile moves.”
At the same time, al-Qahoum claimed that Yemen was concerned about protecting international maritime traffic.
“Yemen is concerned in protecting international maritime navigation in accordance with international laws and norms,” al-Qahoum said.
Some of the world’s largest shipping companies announced that they are suspending their vessels from using the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, as more and more vessels have been targeted and attacked by Houthi missiles and drones.
The Bab-al-Mandeb is a strategic naval link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
A ballistic missile, launched by the Houthis, struck the MSC Palatium III cargo ship in the Red Sea near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on Friday, following another attack only hours earlier that slammed into a different vessel operated by a Hapag-Lloyd, a German shipping company.
“Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice,” the Danish shipping company Maersk said in a statement.
Hapag-Lloyd said that it would be suspending its container ship traffic in the Red Sea until Dec. 18, when it would reassess the situation.
The Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree released a statement on Friday that the Houthis claimed responsibility for Friday’s attacks.
“The Yemeni armed forces confirm they will continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports from navigating in the (Red Sea) until they bring in the food and medicine that our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip need,” he said.
Earlier in November, the deputy chief of the Houthis’ general staff, Maj.-Gen. Ali Hammoud Al-Mushki warned that the Houthis would continue to attack targets both in and outside of Israel.
“We are with the Palestinian people, and as long as the Zionist enemy continues its crimes and killing the people of Palestine, we will continue to stand against the Zionist enemy,” Al-Mushki said.
On Dec. 11, the Houthis struck a Norwegian vessel, the STRINDA, with an anti-ship cruise missile in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, causing a fire onboard.
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