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On December 14, 2023, the pro-Lebanese Hizbullah newspaper Al-Akhbar (Beirut) published an article celebrating recent attacks by Yemen's Iran-Backed Ansar Allah movement (Houthi) on commercial shipping vessels off the coast of Yemen.[1] The report claimed that U.S. efforts to secure the region's waters were ineffective. Relying heavily on Houthi sources, the report also praised regional governments' support for Houthis' continuing attacks on civilian ships.
Attacks Expanding Beyond The Red Sea
The article opened by claiming that recent Houthi operations had expanded the group's attacks on shipping vessels from the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab to a wider area.
"The scope of military operations against Israeli ships or foreign ships heading to the ports of the Occupier expanded yesterday, from the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea, in order to put pressure to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip."
Using terms that give the Houthi forces the air of legitimacy, the article described how the Houthis had stopped a vessel that was allegedly bringing military fuel from India to Israel:
"The Yemeni naval forces thwarted an attempt to pass a ship that was coming from India to Israel, loaded with a shipment of aviation fuel for the occupying army," referencing Israel.
According to information it obtained, Al-Akhbar claimed that the vessel belongs to "Israeli businessman Idan Ofer, with the ship flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, in an attempt to conceal its identity," adding that the Houthis had previously provided warning to the ship.
Vessel Ordered To Turn Around "Despite The Presence Of An American Battleship Nearby"
Sources told the Lebanese daily that a second vessel was also intercepted and forced to turn around without delivering its cargo. According to "well-informed" Yemeni sources, navy boats intercepted a second cargo ship in the Red Sea carrying food supplies and flying the flag of Malta, and was heading to an Israeli port.
The article implied that the latter operation proved the "inefficacy" of U.S. naval protection in the area, saying that the vessel "was forced to return to where it came from, despite the presence of an American battleship nearby."
The piece also notes that Israeli officials ordered an information blackout on these shipments to prevent similar attacks in the future, but Houthi sources claimed that similar, previous efforts had met with little success.
Claims By UK's Maritime Trade Operations Rejected
Al-Akhbar also cited allegations by the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations that Houthis had detained a ship off the coast of Hodeida, a claim which Yemeni sources rejected:
"Sources close to Ansar Allah accused the British and American media of incitement, aiming to launch operations against Sana'a, and of working to raise the international community's fears, in an attempt to highlight the importance of forming an international coalition to secure Israel's navigation in the Red Sea."
Expanding Area Of Operations
According to a Houthi military official cited in the article, the Iran-backed movement aims to prevent the movement of ships suspected of supplying goods to Israel in all waters off the coast of Yemen, and even in the Indian Ocean:
"Major General Abdullah Al-Jaafari confirmed that the decision to prevent the passage of all ships to the occupation's ports would extend from the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and that Sana'a is capable of stopping the Entity's [i.e. Israel's] ships in the Indian Ocean."
Regional Support
Senior Houthi official Mohammed Abdul Salam claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that the Houthis had received statements from unnamed countries in the region approving of the operations.[2]
"Against the backdrop of the operations in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, we received several communications and messages from active countries, confirming their support for the ceasefire in Gaza, their commitment to working to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, and that they are against the expansion of the conflict."
Abdul Salam also subtly criticized those who voiced support, but were unwilling to take tangible steps to help Palestinians.
"While we encourage all positions calling for a ceasefire and the introduction of aid, we stress the importance of translating these positions into reality."
"Naval Forces Eagerly Await The Arrival Of Any Israeli Ships"
According to Houthi sources, "the Americans requested permission from the Yemeni forces [i.e. Houthis], through an intermediary country, to allow one of its battleships to pass through the Red Sea, for fear of being exposed to attack."
According to the article, the militants told "all British, American and French forces present in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, that any ship passing through without prior official permission will be treated as an enemy ship and a legitimate target."
Houthi sources cited by Al-Akhbar downplayed Israeli "threats," adding that "naval forces [of the Houthis] eagerly await the arrival of any Israeli ships, which will be dealt with directly."
Internationally Recognized Government Shies Away From U.S.
According to the article, the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which is temporarily headquartered in Yemen's southern city of Aden, backed out of a U.S.-led effort to secure freedom of navigation in the region.
The about-face came after it received "widespread criticism, following its announcement on December 12, of its decision to join the U.S.-led Navigation Protection Coalition. Dozens of military and political leaders and civil society organizations in the south declared their support for the Palestinian people and their support for the Sana'a [i.e. Houthi] operations, regardless of internal disputes."
The internationally recognized government, led by Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi, decamped to the southern city in 2015 after the Houthi rebels overran Sana'a and much of the rest of the country.
The article also accused military leader Tariq Saleh of staging an anti-Houthi parade in the coastal city of Midi, to oppose the Houthi attacks on shipping vessels headed to Israel.
Saleh is the nephew of slain Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was executed by the Houthis in 2017 after leaving a coalition that included the Houthis.
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