Houthi: Yemen to target Israel-linked ships regardless of destination

Yemen’s Ansarullah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi says the country’s forces will target ships of any company related to supplying or transporting goods to Israel regardless of their destination.

This is a fourth stage of escalation in retaliation for “the Israeli aggression on Rafah” in the southern Gaza Strip, but Yemen is also considering a further “fifth and sixth stage”, he said in a televised speech on Thursday.

“Any ships of any company involved in supply or transporting goods to the enemy and to any destination will be targeted. Any ship transporting goods to enemy ports will be a target for us wherever our hands reach,” he said.

“When we make a decision at a certain stage, it means that we have the capabilities to implement it,” he added.

Ansarullah has been targeting Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in solidarity with the Palestinians. It says the operations will continue unless Israel stops its war and its siege on the Gaza Strip.

“We are also thinking about the fifth stage now, and we have very important, sensitive, and impactful options against the enemies,” Houthi said. “There are no red lines for us that can hinder us from carrying out our operations.”

Houthi said Ansarullah forces continue to target American, Israeli, and British ships linked to the Israeli enemy.

He said the forces carried out 25 operations in the month of Shawwal which began on April 10, during which 71 ballistic missiles and drones were launched.

Since the beginning of Yemen’s operations, 112 vessels have been targeted, he said, adding 10 ballistic missiles and drones were launched only over the past week.