The Yemeni group says it will continue attacking commercial ships linked to Israel until aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza.
The United States and the United Kingdom have issued new sanctions against Yemen's Houthi leaders, as the group pledges to continue its attacks on commercial ships linked to Israel until aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza.
The sanctions, announced Thursday, target four key Houthi officials for their role in supporting or directing attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the United States and the United Kingdom said.
“The Houthis' persistent terrorist attacks on merchant ships and their civilian crews…threaten to disrupt international supply chains and freedom of navigation, which is critical to global security, stability and prosperity,” said Brian Nelson. , US Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
“Today's joint action with the United Kingdom demonstrates our collective action to harness all authorities to stop these attacks.”
Those sanctioned were the Houthi Defense Minister, Mohamed Nasser al-Atifi; the commander of the Houthi naval forces, Muhammad Fadl Abd al-Nabi; the head of the coastal defense forces, Muhammad Ali al-Qadiri; and Muhammed Ahmad al-Talibi, whom the two governments described as the Houthi forces' procurement director.
The United Kingdom said the four men were involved in acts that “threaten the peace, security and stability of Yemen.”
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement that the restrictions “reinforce our clear message to the Houthis in recent weeks,” vowing to target those behind the “unacceptable and illegal actions” against shipping.
War against Gaza
The sanctions came as Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi vowed to continue attacks that have disrupted international trade in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
“Our country will continue its operations until food and medicine reach the people of Gaza,” al-Houthi said in a televised speech Thursday.
Since November, the Houthis have carried out dozens of attacks on commercial ships they say were linked to Israel. They said the operations were aimed at pressuring Israel to stop its war on Gaza.
The group's leader added that US and British military action in Yemen carried out in response to Houthi attacks would not affect their “will and determination.”
On Monday, a new round of attacks targeted a Houthi underground storage site, as well as surveillance and missile capabilities used by the Iran-aligned group against Red Sea shipping.
Houthi attacks have disrupted international trade along a route that accounts for about 15 percent of global shipping traffic. Several shipping companies have diverted their ships to the southern tip of Africa, delaying delivery times and adding an extra 3,000 to 3,500 nautical miles (6,000 kilometers) to their routes.
The United States also redesignated the Houthis as “specially designated global terrorists” (SDGT) earlier this month, a designation attributed to those deemed to “threaten the security of the United States.”
In response to the designation and US and British attacks on targets in Yemen, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Sana'a, Yemen's capital, and other cities to protest and show support for the Palestinians in Gaza.
