The Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are backed by Iran, are intensifying their attacks on ships in the Red Sea, claiming that this is retaliation against Israel for its military operation in Gaza.
One of the most significant maritime trade routes in the world has been forced to halt transit by some of the largest oil and shipping companies in the world due to the attacks, which may hurt the world economy.
There are concerns that the Houthis’ attacks could turn Israel‘s war against Hamas into a larger regional conflict because it is thought that Iran has provided the Houthis with weapons and training.
What is known about the Houthis and their motivation for joining the conflict is as follows.
Identify the Houthis.
One side of the Yemeni civil war, which has been raging for almost ten years, is the Houthi movement, also referred to as Ansarallah (Supporters of God). It first appeared in the 1990s when Hussein al-Houthi, the movement’s leader, started “Believing Youth,” a religious rebirth movement for the centuries-old Zaidism subsect of Shia Islam.
After the civil war in 1962, the Sunni regime came to power and marginalised the Zaidis, who had ruled Yemen for centuries. The movement of Al-Houthi was established to stand up for Zaidis and oppose radical Sunnism, especially Saudi Arabian Wahhabi ideologies. The people closest to him became referred to as Houthis.
How did they come to be powerful?
The Believing Youth was first backed by Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country’s first president following the unification of North and South Yemen in 1990. However, as the movement gained traction and its criticism of the government became more pointed, Saleh found himself in danger. When Saleh backed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, despite strong opposition from the Yemenis, things reached a breaking point.
Al-Houthi saw an opening presented by the rift. Taking advantage of the public fury, he planned large-scale protests. Following months of chaos, Saleh issued an arrest warrant for him.
Although Yemeni forces killed Al-Houthi in September 2004, his movement persisted. As more fighters joined the cause, the Houthi military wing expanded. Inspired by the initial Arab Spring demonstrations in 2011, they seized Saada, a province in the north, and demanded the overthrow of the Saleh regime.
Is Yemen under the Houthis’ control?
Although Saleh consented in 2011 to transfer power to Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, his vice president, the government was no longer well-liked. In 2014, the Houthis launched another attack, seizing control of a portion of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, before eventually invading the presidential palace early in the following year.
Hadi escaped to Saudi Arabia, which in March 2015, at his request, began a war against the Houthis. What was supposed to be a quick campaign took years to complete: In 2022, a ceasefire was ultimately agreed upon. The six-month period ended, but the parties involved haven’t resumed full-scale fighting.
According to the UN, the Yemeni conflict has become the worst humanitarian crisis on record. UN estimates put the number of deaths from the conflict at close to a quarter of a million.
The Houthis have solidified their hold on the majority of northern Yemen since the ceasefire. Additionally, they have been trying to reach an agreement with the Saudis that would end the war and solidify their position as the nation’s leaders.
Who are the people who support them?
Iran supports the Houthis; as the civil war widened and its animosity towards Saudi Arabia grew, Iran started providing the group with more aid in 2014. According to a 2021 report from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Iran has given the group arms and technology for things like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones), ballistic and cruise missiles, and sea mines.
The Houthis are a member of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance,” a coalition of regional militias supported by the Islamic Republic that is led by Iran and opposes both Israel and the West. The Houthis are one of three well-known Iranian-backed militias that have attacked Israel in recent weeks, along with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
What is the strength of the Houthis?
The Houthis’ home-produced missiles have been steadily improving in lethality, accuracy, and range, according to US officials. According to an official familiar with US intelligence, the Houthi weapons that were initially produced in Yemen were primarily put together using Iranian components that were smuggled into the country in fragments.
However, the official stated that they have made incremental changes that have added up to significant overall advancements. The Houthis have employed medium-range ballistic missiles against Israel in a novel development. In early December, they fired a salvo of projectiles towards the southern Israeli town of Eilat, which Israel claimed to have intercepted.
Even though the Houthis might not be able to seriously threaten Israel, their technology has the potential to cause havoc in the Red Sea. The USS Carney, a warship in the Red Sea, has responded to distress calls after they used drones and anti-ship missiles to target commercial ships, some of which aren’t thought to be connected to Israel.
Why are ships in the Red Sea being attacked by the Houthis?
The Houthis may not have the same capabilities as Hamas and Hezbollah due to geographical and technological limitations, but their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea could cause Israel and its allies different kinds of suffering.
The significance of this slender body of water, which connects the Suez Canal in northern Egypt to the Bab-el-Mandeb straits off the coast of Yemen and through which 12% of world trade, including 30% of container traffic, passes, has been painfully brought home to the world economy on a number of occasions.
A ship named the Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal in 2021, obstructing the important trade route for almost a week and delaying up to $10 billion in cargo every day. The incident also caused much longer-lasting disruptions to global supply chains.
The Houthi drone and missile attacks against commercial vessels, which have been happening nearly every day since December 9, have raised concerns that the global economy may be even more shocked.
Amidst concerns of Houthi attacks, four of the top five shipping companies in the world, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM Group, and Evergreen, have declared they will stop shipping through the Red Sea. The oil and gas giant BP announced on Monday that it would follow suit.
The attacks might compel ships to circumnavigate Africa via a longer route, which would drive up insurance prices. Companies might raise prices once more at a time when governments around the globe are fighting to control post-pandemic inflation by passing on the higher cost of transporting their goods to consumers.
The Houthis claim that they won’t give up until Israel permits the entry of food and medicine into Gaza; it’s possible that their attacks are meant to hurt Israel’s allies economically in the hopes that this will put pressure on Israel to stop bombarding the enclave.
Supporting the Palestinian cause may also be an attempt to gain acceptance in the community and at home as they aim to seize control of northern Yemen. Additionally, it might provide them an advantage over Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two Arab rivals whom they charge of being pawns of both the US and Israel.
What reaction has the world had?
It’s possible that the attacks are meant to involve more nations in the battle. If the international community does not take action against the Houthis, Israel has threatened to do so. Referring to the Houthi attacks as a “naval siege,” National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi stated this month that a “global arrangement” is required to address the threat “because it is a global issue.”
In an effort to “tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor” that “threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law,” the US announced on Monday the formation of a new multinational naval task force that includes the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Norway, and other nations.
A Houthi spokesman, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, told Al Jazeera on Monday that the group would fight any coalition led by the United States in the Red Sea.
The ragtag, but deadly, Houthi rebels who have made themselves unavoidable may draw the US further into the Middle East, just as the Biden administration is starting to give in to pressure to force Israel to end its campaign in Gaza.
