In a move that would only increase tensions in the Middle East region, new reports suggest that US plans to carry out military actions against Houthis in collaboration with Saudi Arabia and the UAE and in support for Israel.
New reports suggest that the Biden administration plans to authorize the US military to carry out military action against Houthis in Yemen in collaboration with regional allies including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The move, as one report from Bloomberg revealed, is in support for Israel and in reaction to the seizure of Israeli ships by the Yemeni group in the Red Sea.
“It is a natural response after the Houthis have fired missiles and one-way drones at several ships and hijacked at least one in recent weeks,” the White House said in a statement this Thursday. It is, however, not yet clear whether Washington and its regional allies will be able to deter the Houthis or tamp down Israel’s demands for forceful action.
Revealing more details of the US plan for attacking Yemen, the Bloomberg report noted that “the Biden administration’s plan is to expand Combined Task Force 153, a military unit focused on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.” The above-mentioned task force is part of the Combined Maritime Forces, a group with 39 member nations that is headquartered in Bahrain.
“Measures such as military strikes or designating the Houthis as terrorists could complicate efforts by the United Nations, the United States and the others to end a disastrous civil conflict in Yemen,” said Sam Dagher, a political analyst from Bloomberg.
Israel will attack Yemen too, Netanyahu said
Despite Israel is still carrying out attacks against Gazans from air and land, Netanyahu is now threatening to launch a war against Yemen if the Houthis continue to target and seize Israeli ships in the Red Sea.
In this regard, the Israeli National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi said this Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken about the Houthi threat with President Biden and the leaders of Germany, France and Britain, telling them that “Israel is giving the world time to organize and prevent it.”
“If there is no international organization — because this is a global problem — we’ll work to remove the maritime closure,” he told Israel’s Channel 12. Earlier this week, the Houthis declared that they would target any ship that travels to Israel and does not stop in Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid to Gazans. Ships with no ties to Israel or that do not travel there will be permitted to pass, the group said.
Earlier this November, Houthi forces launched four attacks against three Israeli commercial ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis said they are doing this because “the Zionist enemy is still continuing to commitment horrific massacres, genocidal war, and siege against our brothers in Gaza.”
In the latest attack, Sanaa announced it carried out a drone strike on the Israel-bound Maersk Gibraltar vessel this Thursday. As a result of these attacks, shipping costs in the Red Sea have surged significantly, with companies, including Israeli companies, being forced to resort to expensive reroutes and hiked prices.
