Yemen's Houthis will resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden, effective immediately, the group announced on Tuesday night.

Any vessel that violates the group's "ban on the passage of all Israeli ships" will be targeted. This will continue "until the crossings to the Gaza Strip are reopened and aid, food, and medicine are allowed in," the Houthi terror group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said on behalf of the Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi.

This announcement follows al-Houthi's Friday statement that the terror group would resume its naval operations against Israel if Israel did not lift a blockage of aid into Gaza within four days.

The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, also said in February that they would take military action if the US and Israel tried to displace Palestinians from Gaza forcibly.

THE ‘CORDELIA MOON’ oil tanker bursts into flames after being hit in a Houthi missile attack off Yemen’s Hodeidah Port last October. (credit: Houthi Military Media/Reuters)
THE ‘CORDELIA MOON’ oil tanker bursts into flames after being hit in a Houthi missile attack off Yemen’s Hodeidah Port last October. (credit: Houthi Military Media/Reuters)
Iran's state news agency, IRNA, noted on Friday that al-Houthi warned "that Yemen cannot tolerate the escalation of tension, the prevention of aid entry into Gaza, or the return of famine to this region of Palestine. The Zionist enemy has significantly reduced its obligations, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and the number of patients moving outside of Gaza has decreased drastically.”

Houthi naval attack history and wider context

The Iran-aligned movement staged more than 100 attacks on shipping from November 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians following Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. These maritime attacks lessened following the January ceasefire in Gaza.

The US State Department said on March 4 that it was designating the Houthi movement as a "foreign terrorist organization" after US President Donald Trump's call for the move earlier this year.

Earlier on March 4, the Saudi state-owned Al-Arabiya reported that Houthi radars in Yemen had been targeted in airstrikes.

Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this report.