Ever since the Hamas invasion of Israel, the Houthis in Yemen have been firing daily ballistic missiles and suicide drones at Israel, in addition to attacking ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis stand in solidarity with Hamas. They insist that when Israel withdraws from Gaza, they will stop these attacks.
While there are isolated Iran proxies In Iraq and Syria, the three main groups doing the bidding of Iran are Hamas in Gaza, which Israel is attacking now, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the southern portion of Syria, and the Houthi rebels located in Yemen.
There have been about 20 attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. If you look at the map, you will see the Suez Canal at the top of the Red Sea, and down at the very bottom, there is a very narrow strait called “the Gate of Grief” or “the Gate of Tears.” The Houthis are firing on the ships in that area and disrupting global maritime travel and trade.
Just Wednesday, the BBC reported that the Navies of the U.S. and the U.K. “repelled the largest attack yet on Red Sea shipping.” NPR similarly stated that the Houthis’ latest action was the “largest-ever barrage of drones and missiles targeting shipping in the Red Sea.”
All of this is stoking fear of a wider conflict.
NBC News on Tuesday quoted two diplomats from NATO countries, who said that “strike plans against Houthi bases, boats, and weapons in Yemen have already been drawn up.”
NATO already has plans regarding the bases and the different places they’re going to hit in Yemen if these attacks are not stopped. Approximately 10% of the world’s shipping goes through this hotspot. These attacks are very disruptive to commerce and, it is believed, can create inflation.
All of these Houthi actions are directed against Israel. Any ships that are related in any tangential way to Israel are the primary targets.
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