• Houthis have fired ballistic missiles into mainland Israeli territory despite US and UK red-sea deployments
• A US warship attacked by Houthi drones and another British-owned ship struck at a similar interval
Yesterday in the early morning in the Israeli city of Eilat, air raid sirens were ringing as Houthi ballistic missiles had reached the southern provinces of Israel once again. A Houthi spokesperson had said, “Our missiles and UAV forces fired a number of ballistic missiles and drones at various targets of the Zionist enemy in the Umm al Rashrash area, south of occupied Palestine.” Videos have circulated showing what looked like missiles being intercepted in the early morning in the city of Eilat. This wasn’t the only attack launched yesterday by the Houthis, as the US. Central Command has admitted that between ‘4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. aircraft and a coalition warship shot down six Iranian-backed Houthi one-way attack (OWA) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the red sea’. They also even admitted that a UK ship was struck in the Gulf of Aden. They said, ‘Later, between 8:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m., the Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles from southern Yemen into the Gulf of Aden. The missiles impacted the MV Islander a Palau-flagged, U.K.-owned, cargo carrier causing one minor injury and damage. The ship is continuing its voyage.’
This is a huge embarrassment for the US and UK, who have thought that by attacking the Houthis they will be able to deter them from further action. There are reports that show that the Houthis have managed to recruit and train 200,000 people in the space of a few months after the campaign in the Red Sea started. The popularity of the Houthis, both within the provinces they rule and outside, has increased dramatically, with the group becoming more united and stronger as the days go by. This triple attack in one day will be revered by the Houthis and Yemenis alike. Before the Gaza genocide began, it looked as if a full peace treaty could have been reached between the Houthi and Yemeni governments, but after the genocide began, that deal was delayed. It’s possible now, with the massive amount of support and vigour the Houthis have managed to acquire from their people, that they may think otherwise and may decide to break the current ceasefire and claim the rest of Yemen for themselves. The massive geopolitical consequences the US and UK bombardment of the Houthis has created, along with the reluctance to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, will be remembered in history books as the main juncture to Middle Eastern destabilisation in the 2020s.
