Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October 2023, several regional militias that owe allegiance to Iran and pledge solidarity with Palestine have waged a war against Israel. One such group—the Houthis—has managed to give a tough fight to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the West.
Officially known as the Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), the Houthis are a Yemen-based Shia armed group that was founded in the 1990s.
It is named after Hussein al-Houthi, the late founder of the movement. The Houthis are a crucial part of the Iran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’ against the US and Israel, which also includes the Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Iraq-based Islamic Resistance. In Yemen, they are a rebel group that remains marred in a decade-old conflict with the Yemen government.
In 2015, when the decades-old Yemen civil war entered a new intense phase, the Houthi rebels moved quickly and seized large swathes of western Yemen and other territories. A decade later, the Houthis still have control over the capital, Sanaa, and the northwest region of Yemen, which includes the Red Sea coast.
The group is believed to be supported by Iran, a claim continually refuted by the Iranian government, which states that it only supports them politically.
Houthis have gained widespread popularity in the past year due to their battles against Israel and the US in the Red Sea. Several regional countries have opposed this armed group; however, the Houthis have remained a strong regional force in the Middle East despite “military blows” by a coalition of different Arab states.
The Houthis Against Arab Coalition
In the early 2000s, the Houthis waged a series of uprisings against Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s longstanding authoritarian ruler. The group charged Saleh with corruption and fought to secure more autonomy for northern Yemen.
During the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East, Saleh was finally forced to cede power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. However, Hadi’s rule suffered from a host of problems. The Houthis saw an opportunity here. They formed an unusual alliance with Saleh and the security forces loyal to him and seized the northern province of Saada.
Yemen’s civil war started in 2014 when Houthi troops overran the country’s capital, Sanaa, overthrowing the Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government. Saudi Arabia feared that Yemen could become a satellite of its adversary, Iran, if the Houthis took control of the country. It organized a coalition of Arab nations and entered the conflict.
Over the years, the Houthis have launched several missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia and the UAE. For instance, in a major escalation in June 2020, the Houthis attacked the Saudi Defense Ministry headquarters and King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Two more missile attacks were launched that year, in September and November, that caused significant damage in the country.
The following year, in 2021, Houthis launched another massive attack. As per reports from the time, the oil company Saudi Aramco was hit with 12 drones and eight missiles, while the rest of the drones struck the kingdom’s military targets, including the King Abdulaziz Air Base in the eastern city of Dammam.
Similar attacks were launched in the UAE. In January 2022 alone, the Houthis launched three attacks against targets inside the Emirati kingdom. Several Houthi drones targeted the UAE capital, including the construction site of a new airport and fuel tankers near depots of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
This was, however, never a one-sided battle. The Arab coalition shelled the Houthis and launched regular strikes on them to decimate their power base in Yemen. The coalition has almost always retaliated by launching aerial strikes on the Houthis. They have frequently been accused of human rights violations in Yemen and killing civilians under the garb of attacking the militant group.
Despite massive air strikes and bombing campaigns, the Houthis remain in control of most of the territory it captured a decade ago. Since April 2022, the two sides, the Houthis & Arab coalition, have been carrying out peace talks, and while an agreement has not been signed, an uneasy ceasefire remains in place.
Houthis Are Fighting Israel
Houthi fighters in Yemen have targeted Israel since October 2023, when Israel began its bombing campaign on Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas attack.
The Houthis pledge solidarity with the Palestinians and continue to launch drone and missile attacks on Israel. The Houthis have even claimed to attack Israel using a hypersonic missile known as ‘Palestine 2.’
While the attacks have been launched for more than a year, the battle has seen an escalation in recent times, with Israel launching frequent retaliatory strikes. In July 2024, Israel launched a strike on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah after an Israeli civilian was killed in a Houthi drone attack on the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv.
In December, the Israelis launched several aerial strikes on ports, power plants, and the international airport in Sanaa. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that the IDF will expand operations against the Houthis. He said that his response to Houthis’ attack on its territory for over a year was “just getting started.”
However, the Houthis have pledged to keep fighting. A Houthi political official, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, told BBC that the group would “escalate military targeting of Israel” until it stopped “the genocide in Gaza.” “We are committed to continuing our military operation in support of Gaza, and we will not stop until the genocide crimes and the siege on Gaza stop. We are going to escalate our military targeting of Israel,” he added.
The Israelis have secured support from its allies in the West, led by the United States and the United Kingdom. This has provided the Houthis an excuse to target Western commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea.
Houthis Against The Red Sea Transit
The Houthis have been attacking commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea since November 2023. At first, they claimed they were hitting ships that were sailing to or from Israel. Nevertheless, a large number of the vessels attacked by the group were eventually found to be unaffiliated with Israel.
In response to the attacks on Israel and seizures of ships in the Red Sea, the US formed a coalition to fight the Houthis in the Red Sea. The coalition regularly intercepts missiles and drones meant for targets inside Israel.
Additionally, the US and UK fighter jets launched several aerial strikes on the Houthis. The US, for one, is the closest ally of Israel and has launched a massive military build-up in the region to protect it against attacks from the Houthis, Iran, and other regional militias.
According to reports, most missiles fired by the Houthis have been intercepted by the US. However, the US-UK airstrikes on the Yemen-based group have done little to improve the security situation in the Red Sea, a major shipping route that accounts for almost 15% of all maritime trade worldwide. Despite the US and its allies manning the sea, major shipping companies have stopped using the route, causing a major blow to international trade and the global economy.
On the contrary, the Houthis have mounted a strong offensive against the advanced US drones flying over Yemen in support of the US offensive and air strikes on the Houthis.
On December 31, 2024, the Houthis claimed to have shot down an American MQ-9, which was conducting hostile operations against the group.
According to claims, this was the 14th Reaper to be shot down by the Houthis. Most of these drones, which cost about $30 million per unit, have been destroyed by the Houthis using surface-to-air missiles.
The Reapers have been a fixture in Yemen’s skies for years, conducting surveillance and strike missions. The frequency of these attacks has increased notably with the escalation of the Israel-Hamas war and the Houthis’ campaign against maritime targets in the Red Sea corridor. Notably, the rout faced by the US drones in Yemen has led to uncertainty and doubts regarding the Reaper’s efficacy in lightly-contested airspace.
Meanwhile, speaking to BBC, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said that the Houthis are now in a confrontation with the US, UK, and Israel.
However, in a rather unusual development, an Israel-based publication, i24News, published explosive claims on January 1, alleging a covert partnership between Beijing and the Houthis and exposing a massive supply chain of advanced weapons between them. The report cited unnamed US intelligence officials to make these claims. The report alleged that the Houthis used Chinese-made weapons in their attacks in return for a promise that they would not attack vessels with Chinese flags.
The report further stated that since the start of the Red Sea operations, US intelligence services have discovered a convoluted weapons supply network between the Houthis and China.
Through this network, Houthis can get cutting-edge parts and guidance systems for cruise and ballistic missiles. According to the report, Houthi commanders intend to use these Chinese parts to produce hundreds of cruise missiles that can target sites in Israel, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf.
It added that since September 2024, Washington had sent Beijing this intelligence several times, including comprehensive lists of Chinese companies engaged in this armaments network. However, Beijing has yet to act on the intel.
These claims could not be independently verified. However, what is certain is that the unbridled attacks from the Houthis on US assets in the region and the Israeli state are not likely to cease any time soon, as Bukhaiti promised less than a week ago.
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