The leader of the Houthis has warned his fighters have their fingers “on the trigger” ready to resume their campaign against merchant shipping passing by the Red Sea in the event that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas backfires.
No ships have been attacked this year, with the Houthis saying they will step back so long as Israel’s war with Hamas ends – a truce that is now increasingly looking in trouble.
Israel’s security cabinet has supported president Donald Trump’s demand for all remaining Israeli hostages to be returned on Saturday
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops to amass inside and around Gaza in response to Hamas’s announcement that it was postponing freeing more hostages until further notice.
The ceasefire was already under stress after Trump called last week for Gazans to be evicted from their territory and for the US to take over the area and redevelop it as the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
In response to the increasing tension in and around Gaza, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, the Houthi leader, said in a televised speech yesterday: “Our hands are on the trigger and we are ready to immediately escalate against the Israeli enemy if it returns to escalation in the Gaza Strip.”
While there haven’t been any incidents since the rebel group announced a truce last month, the number of vessels sailing through the Gulf of Aden remains unchanged, according to the Joint Maritime Information Cente. Major shipowners, especially containerlines, have remained cautious about returning to the Red Sea.
In support of Hamas, the Houthis initiated a campaign against merchant ships passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, targeting more than 100 ships since November 2023, leading to a major rerouting for most ships heading between Asia and Europe.
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