Yemeni Video About US Ship Attack May Not Be What You Think

The U.S. response to attacks in the Red Sea, repelling fire from the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen, has added a new dimension to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, with fears that violence may spill out across surrounding Arab nations.

Washington has said it is weighing up all "appropriate responses" following what it said were "four attacks against three separate commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern Red Sea" on Sunday."

The U.S. military named the three ships as the Unity Explorer, the Number 9 and Sophie II. The Houthi movement said it had attacked the Unity Explorer and Number 9, but said they were Israeli vessels, according to reports. A spokesperson for Israel's military said they had no connection to Israel, and the U.S. described the ships as Bahamas and Panama-flagged.

A U.S. destroyer, the USS Carney, also registered a series of drone attacks launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen as it responded to the incidents, CENTCOM said. The precise targets of the drones were not clear.

Yemen occupies a strategically vital position on world shipping routes, sitting at the confluence of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, which leads to the Suez Canal.

Since the attack, there have been multiple videos of Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree posted online. In these videos, Saree described the military force that targeted the ships as the "Yemeni Armed Forces."

One video statement was shared on TikTok, among other social media platforms. According to a translation, which broadly matches other comments that Saree posted, Saree referenced Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and claimed the actions in the Red Sea were in support of "Palestinian people."

"The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces with the help of God Almighty carried out this morning a targeting operation against two Israeli ships in Bal al-Mandab," the translation stated.

"And they are the Unity Explorer and Ship No. 9. The first ship was targeted with a naval missile and the second ship with a naval drone. The targeting operation came after two ships rejected warning messages from the Yemeni Naval Forces."

Saree went on to state that "Yemeni Armed Forces" would continue to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red and Arabian Seas "until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops."

He added: "The Yemeni Armed Forces renew their warning to all Israeli ships or those associated with Israelis that they will become a legitimate target in the event that it violates what is stated in this statement and previous statements issued by the Yemeni Armed Forces."

However, contrary to what Saree or descriptions of his speeches may suggest, the armed group responsible for the attacks on ships in the Red Sea are not part of the internationally recognized government of Yemen.

Saree and what he identifies as the Yemeni Armed Forces are simply part of the Houthi movement that took over much of Yemen in 2014, when they expelled the Saudi-backed government from the capital of Sanaa.

They are believed to have access to a vast arsenal of drones and missiles.

On March 26, 2015, Saudi Arabia mobilized a coalition of Arab states to launch a joint campaign of economic isolation and airstrikes backed by the U.S. against the Houthis, in support of the embattled Yemeni government which was then headed by Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

But last year, Hadi resigned, leaving the Presidential Leadership Council led by Chairman Rashad al-Alimi in charge of the internationally recognized Yemeni government now based in the southern port city of Aden.

The Yemeni government released a statement in November to affirm its "absolute rejection of the acts of maritime piracy carried out by the Houthi militias, with the full support of the Iranian regime, in Yemeni territorial waters, which represents a serious threat to maritime navigation and international peace and security."

It added: "These terrorist acts launched by the Houthi militias on behalf of the Iranian regime would deepen the humanitarian crisis for the Yemeni people, and double the economic burdens, insurance and sea freight costs on ships heading to Yemeni ports.

"Such terrorist attacks will serve the interest of foreign powers, including turning territorial waters into a theater of conflict, expanding Israeli influence and armed groups in the region."

Newsweek has contacted the Republic of Yemen's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for comment.

The U.S. had previously recognized the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, a status it revoked in 2021. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in 2021 that the revocation was intended to help address Yemen's humanitarian crises and "ensure that relevant U.S. policies do not impede assistance." The U.S. has since received calls to reimpose the terrorist status.

The Houthis, an Iranian-backed alliance, have offered moral and financial support to Hamas. As has been stated elsewhere, the attacks on ships this week and assaults on other vessels in the past month were carried out by Houthi rebels.

This failure to draw a distinction between the Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognized government has cropped up in viral content elsewhere. On TikTok, Instagram and X, the attacks have been repeatedly attributed to Yemen or Yemeni Armed Forces instead of the Houthis.

Understanding this distinction between what some may assume is the internationally-backed government and the forces that are carrying out these attacks in the Red Sea is important to understand as tensions persist between Israel and other Arab nations and powers.