The destroyer USS Carney defeats a combination of Houthi missiles and aerial drones in the Red Sea on Oct. 19, 2023. (Aaron Lau/U.S. Navy)
Houthi militants in Yemen are escalating attacks on ships traversing the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest maritime routes, including for oil shipments.
Since Israel declared war against Hamas in retaliation for its Oct. 7 cross-border attack, the Iranian-backed Houthis have used their base in northern Yemen to fire missiles and drones at several ships passing through the Red Sea. U.S. forces in the Middle East have been forced to respond in some cases; in November, personnel on the USS Carney downed cruise missiles and drones launched from Yemen, possibly aimed at Israel. Other Iranian-backed groups in the region have also attacked U.S. targets, in retaliation against Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Houthis claim they are attacking Israeli-linked vessels or those destined for its ports. Israel’s military has said that at least some of the vessels have no link to Israel. On Nov. 19, Houthi rebels escalated their attacks even further, by hijacking a 620-foot-long cargo vessel, the Galaxy Leader, and taking 25 of its crew members captive.
The United States, hoping to contain Israel’s war against Hamas from expanding across the region without getting drawn into Yemen’s civil conflict, hopes a coalition of allies will step in to safeguard vessels in the Red Sea.
Who are the Houthi militants from Yemen?
The Houthis are a rebel movement that took control of Yemen’s capital in 2014. They are formally known as Ansar Allah, or the “partisans of God.” After deposing the U.S.-allied government in Sanaa, the Houthis forced then-President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia, elevating the group to international prominence and triggering a years-long civil war. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, which has engulfed Yemen ever since, alongside a spiraling humanitarian emergency.
The civil war has pitted the Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels, who maintain a stronghold in Yemen’s north, against Saudi-backed government forces who are supported by a coalition of mostly Gulf Arab nations. The United States has provided military support to the Saudi-led coalition throughout the war.
The rebels named themselves after Hussein al-Houthi, a key figure who promoted the Zaydi branch of Shiite Islam, which dominated Yemen for centuries. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Houthi staged anti-American rallies in opposition to Yemen’s U.S.-backed government before he was killed by government forces in 2004. As the group shifted from religious protest to armed insurgency, it became associated with the slogan developed by Houthi: “Death to America, death to Israel, damnation to the Jews.”
Beyond Yemen’s own borders, the militant group has targeted its opponents with missiles and drones. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for a crippling 2019 attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, strikes in 2020 against Riyadh involving a ballistic missile, and a deadly drone attack in 2022 that killed three people in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
What do the Houthis want and why are they getting involved in the Israel-Gaza war?
The Houthis’ leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, threatened to involve the group in the Israel-Gaza war if what he called “red lines” were crossed. If the United States intervened in Gaza, he said the Houthis would respond with “missile strikes, drones and military options,” according to the Houthi-run Masirah news channel.
Strong support for the Palestinian cause across the Middle East, including in Yemen, has stirred outrage in the region at Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. The Houthis have cast themselves as defenders of the Palestinians, while also seeking to bolster their standing among the region’s Iranian-backed proxy militias, according to analysts.
“I think they dream that the Americans or the Israelis attack them, because that will turn them into a real ‘resistance’ force,” Mustapha Noman, a Yemeni analyst, writer and former diplomat, said at a recent Chatham House briefing.
Why are the Houthis attacking ships?
The Houthis have claimed ships that are linked to Israel or heading to its ports or that are passing by Yemen’s Red Sea coastline are legitimate targets. The shipping route — connecting European ports to their Asian counterparts via the Suez Canal — is a crucial passage for global commerce and among the busiest in the world. Some 8.8 million barrels of oil pass through the area each day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
On Nov. 19, Houthis hijacked the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship flagged to the Bahamas, taking 25 of its crew members hostage. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the hijacking took place approximately 50 miles west of the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, on the Red Sea.
The Houthis claimed the hijacked vessel was Israeli, but Israel said it was British-owned, Japanese-operated and not staffed by any Israeli crew members. The vessel’s owner said crew members had been granted “modest contact” with their families weeks after it was seized.
After the Galaxy Leader hijacking, a Houthi spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, said on social media that the group would target all ships operated or owned by Israel or carrying its flag. He claimed the Houthis were acting “in solidarity with Palestinian people in the wake of the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza.”
On Saturday, Saree escalated the threat — announcing the group’s militants would act to prevent all ships from traveling to Israel. “We warn all ships and companies to avoid dealing with Israeli ports,” he said.
The rebel group has deployed drones and missiles against bulk cargo ships and a Norwegian oil and chemical tanker. On Saturday, the French navy said it downed two drones that had been fired from Yemen in the direction of one of its frigates in the Red Sea.
Israel, insisting that the Houthi threats present a global problem, is seeking action from other countries. Tzachi Hanegbi, the head of Israel’s National Security Council, told Israel’s Channel 12 that “if there is no international organization — because this is a global problem — we’ll work to remove the maritime closure.” He did not respond to a question about whether he was referring to military action.
How has the U.S. responded to Houthi attacks?
The Biden administration has been reluctant to become dragged into the military conflict, as it balances the goal of deterring Houthi threats with a long-standing effort to broker an end to Yemen’s disastrous, years-running civil conflict — an effort that could be complicated by direct military strikes or the designation of the Houthis as terrorists.
Instead, the United States has pitched to its allies the expansion of a multinational naval task force to safeguard the passage, The Washington Post has reported. The Combined Task Force 153, a military unit focused on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, is part of the Combined Maritime Forces, comprising 39 allies and headquartered in Bahrain.
“Our focus is ensuring that there are sufficient military assets in place to deter these Houthi threats to maritime trade in the Red Sea and in the surrounding waters to the global economy writ large,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby recently told reporters at the White House.
Adam Taylor, Siobhán O’Grady, Dan Lamothe, Kareem Fahim, Alex Horton, Ben Brasch and Ali Al-Mujahed contributed to this report.
