The head of the Yemeni Houthi terrorist organization, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, issued remarks on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on Sunday guaranteeing to his supporters that he would continue to orchestrate terrorist attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea despite the holiday season.
“We will continue our operations and many of our fundamental and necessary activities must continue,” Houthi promised, according to the Iranian state Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Houthi’s terrorist group, formally known as “Ansar Allah,” began a campaign of drone and missile strikes against seemingly random ships attempting to navigate in the greater Red Sea region at the end of 2023, allegedly in an attempt to hurt the economy of Israel. The Houthis have controlled a significant percentage of Yemeni territory since 2014, when they took over the national capital of Sana’a and forced the legitimate government to move south to the port city of Aden. Yemen has been in a state of civil war since and both the Houthis and the internationally-recognized government refer to themselves as the government and military of Yemen.
The Houthis declared war on Israel in October in support of fellow jihadist terror organization Hamas, which executed the deadliest attack on Israel in its modern history on October 7. Hamas terrorists invaded residential communities, killing entire families in their own homes and engaging in gang rape, infanticide, extensive torture, and abducting over 200 people. Like the Houthis, the Sunni-led Hamas organization received generous funding from Iran, which celebrated the killing of an estimated 1,200 people on October 7 with street parties featuring fireworks and free lemonade.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi spoke on Sunday on the occasion of preparation for Ramadan, a month during which Muslims around the world typically fast during daylight hours and engage in other acts of fasting as a form of worship. Many radical Islamist terrorists consider Ramadan an ideal time to engage in more acts of jihad, believing that their killings will be rewarded more greatly during the holy month. Multiple Mideast countries confirmed on Sunday that the official start of Ramadan would take place on Monday.
Houthi told his followers from Sana’a on Sunday that his terrorists would “continue their retaliatory strikes in the Red Sea” during Ramadan “in solidarity” with Hamas, according to Iran’s state-run PressTV. Houthi also celebrated the many Yemenis forced into thousands-strong demonstrations in support of Hamas on a weekly basis.
“The demonstrators, who converge on the al-Sabeen Square [in Sana’a] every week, are doing a great and epic job. They are treading the righteous path,” PressTV quoted the leader as saying.
A screen grab captured from a video shows that cargo ship ‘Galaxy Leader’, co-owned by an Israeli company, being hijacked by Iran-backed Houthis from Yemen in the Red Sea on November 20, 2023. (Houthis Media Center / Handout /Anadolu via Getty Images)
“It is a matter of pride for Yemenis to be recognized as noble warriors, with a clear understanding of the Muslim world’s sufferings and miseries of the oppressed Palestinian nation.”
The Houthis organized rallies reportedly attracting thousands of people on Friday in support of the Red Sea terror campaign. Participants published a statement via Iranian state media in which they declared Ramadan “a month of jihad before it is a month of worship” and demanded “a total boycott of American and Israeli goods and the companies that support them.”
Houthi warned on Sunday that all Muslims would allegedly face “a perilous situation if [they] … fail to do a jihad.”
The Houthis first announced a campaign against commercial shipping in and around the Red Sea meant to disturb commerce heading to and from Israel; they have since extended their targets to ships with ties to America and Britain in response to those nations engaging in airstrikes on Yemeni soil meant to degrade the Houthis’ ability to attack vessels in the region.
Houthi leaders have also issued public statements claiming they would avoid targeting ships with links to China and Russia, Hamas-friendly nations that have taken anti-Israel stances at the United Nations.
In reality, however, the Houthis have bombed ships with links to Russia, China, and its patrons in Iran, among other nations with no overt relevance to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The Media Line, a Middle East news outlet, reported on Sunday that Abdul-Malik al-Houthi claimed his terrorists had engaged in 96 missile and drone attacks since October 7. The attacks have sunk one ship so far, the Belize-flagged, Lebanese-operated MV Rubymar, and killed three last week aboard the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned MV True Confidence.
As in his comments on Sunday, al-Houthi has insisted repeatedly in the past two months that the terrorist organization would escalate the number of acts of terrorism in the future.
“Our military operations will continue and advance and we have surprises that our enemies will not expect at all,” al-Houthi proclaimed on February 29.
Houthi also boasted that the American and British airstrikes against his group had made no significant impact on the Houthis’ ability to target ships in the region.
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“The Americans are now admitting their failure to achieve their aggressive goals against our country and are surprised by our strength,” he said.
American President Joe Biden appeared to agree with al-Houthi in remarks in January after journalists asked him if the airstrikes meant to weaken Houthi capabilities were working.
“Well, when you say ‘working,’ are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes.”
Biden nonetheless boasted of his decision to order the airstrikes during his State of the Union address on Thursday.
“Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran. That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” Biden said. “I’ve ordered strikes to degrade the Houthi capabilities and defend U.S. Forces in the region.”
“As Commander in Chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and military personnel,” he promised.