Iran-Backed Houthis Cut Israel Off From Critical Lifeline Amid War in Gaza

A series of attacks conducted by the powerful Yemeni militia aligned with Iran has severed a crucial economic lifeline for Israel amid its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

And with two of the world's top shipping companies announcing Friday that they were suspending Red Sea operations as a result of these repeated operations by the Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, a senior official of the group outlined to Newsweek the terms of its campaign, and why vessels not bound for Israel need not worry.

"Our operation is specific against the Zionist enemy entity and against ships heading to Israeli ports, and we did not target any ship outside this framework," Ansar Allah Deputy Information Secretary Nasreddin Amer told Newsweek. "The goal of the operations is clear, which is to bring aid, food, and medicine into Gaza."

As for the recent decisions by international shipping giants Maersk and Hapag Lloyd to pause all shipping in the Red Sea until further notice, Amer laid the blame on rhetoric coming from Israel and the United States.

"Any fears outside this framework may be the result of Israeli and American threats, which intend to form an alliance in the Red Sea and turn it into a war zone," Amer said. "These statements may have frightened these companies, which prompted them to take such a decision."

"For our part," he added, "we reassure all shipping companies that there is no risk to you or to your ships unless our destination is Israeli ports only."

The decisions on Friday marked the most serious reactions yet to Ansar Allah's maritime campaign announced one month ago. In a statement shared with Newsweek, a representative of Maersk outlined the move.

"We are deeply concerned about the highly escalated security situation in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," the statement said. "The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers."

"Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today," the statement added, "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."

Ansar Allah military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed the recent missile attacks against both the Hong Kong-flagged Maersk Gibraltar on Thursday and two other Liberia-flagged ships, MSC Alanya and MSC Palatium III on Friday. Saree alleged all three ships were "heading toward the Israeli entity" and that actions were taken "after the ship's crew refused to respond to calls from the Yemeni naval forces."

MSC, officially known as the Mediterranean Shipping Company, denied in a statement to Reuters that the MSC Alanya had been attacked, while Hapag-Lloyd said one of its own Liberia-flagged ships, Al Jasrah, had been hit by an unknown projectile and that it would halt operations in the Red Sea until at least Monday.

"We confirm that today our 15,000 TEU vessel Al Jasrah, sailing in the MD2 service, has been attacked while sailing close to the coast of Yemen," a representative of Hapag-Lloyd told Newsweek in a statement. "No crew member was injured."

"Hapag-Lloyd will take additional measures to secure the safety of our crews," the statement added. "Hapag-Lloyd is pausing all container ship traffic through the Red Sea until Monday. Then we will decide for the period thereafter."

Ansar Allah took over Yemen's capital city of Sanaa in 2014 and remains in control of up to 80 percent of the country's population. The group has not, however, received international recognition as the government or armed forces of Yemen, though the group and allies such as Iran and Syria consider it to be.

Saudi Arabia and Arab partners have backed Yemen's internationally recognized government-in-exile throughout a civil war that has been largely halted due to a United Nations-brokered ceasefire first established in April of last year. The Saudi-led coalition and the United States have accused Iran of supplying Ansar Allah with advanced missiles and drones, something both Tehran and the group deny.

Amid the pause in Yemen's fighting, these weapons have been turned on Israel in protest of its ongoing war in Gaza, sparked by an unprecedented surprise attack conducted by Hamas and allied Palestinian factions on October 7. Since Israel's offensive against Gaza, Ansar Allah has repeatedly launched salvos of missiles and drones against southern Israel, some of which have been intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and others by U.S. warships operating off the coast of Yemen.

U.S. Central Command said such attacks "continue to threaten international maritime security" in a statement following Ansar Allah's attack Thursday on the Maersk Gibraltar.

With Israel already suffering economic stagnation as a result of the conflict in Gaza and escalating clashes with Hezbollah along the northern border with Lebanon, denial of commercial access to the Red Sea could prove another major blow in a war that Israeli officials say could last for months, or even years.

Newsweek has reached out to the IDF for comment.

Addressing the shipping shutdown in the Red Sea, White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told reporters on Friday that companies "have to weigh the balance of risk and benefit of the transit of their ships all around the world."

"The commercial traffic transit in the Red Sea is more dangerous now than it was before because of these Houthi attacks on commercial shipping," Kirby said, stating that this is why "we are working so hard to bolster and strengthen the existing combined maritime forces that were already established in the region."

Kirby added that "we continue to condemn in the strongest terms the threats and the acts that the Houthis are demonstrating here in terms of disrupting international flow of commerce, to inhibit the freedom of navigation in international waters and, of course, to endanger the safety of the ships and the crew that are onboard these ships."

"It's absolutely unacceptable," Kirby said. "And we're going to continue to work, again, as I said, with a range of partners to do what we can to make more safe and secure that free flow of commerce through a vital checkpoint and a vital body of water."

Meanwhile, in Sanaa, massive crowds took to the streets on Friday in support of Ansar Allah and in solidarity with the people of Gaza to listen to Saree's announcement of the latest operations in the Red Sea.

"The Yemeni armed forces reassure all ships heading to all ports around the world except Israeli ports that no harm will befall them and that they must keep their identification devices open," Saree said. "The Yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to target any ship that violates what was stated in its previous statements."

"The Yemeni armed forces confirm that they continue to prevent all ships heading to Israeli ports from navigating in the Arab and Red Seas until they bring in the food and medicine that our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip need," he added.