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Who are the Houthis? The Yemen-based militants behind the Red Sea attacks
By James Lemon and Chris Zappone
After the US has warned for weeks that it could retaliate against Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the US and UK have launched significant military action.
Early on Friday, the United States and a handful of allies, including Britain, struck back, carrying out missile strikes on Houthi targets inside Yemen and thrusting the rebels and their long-running armed struggle further into the limelight.
The attack on Houthi bases came a day after the United Nations Security Council voted to condemn “in the strongest terms” at least two dozen attacks carried out by the Houthis on merchant and commercial vessels, which it said had impeded global commerce and undermined navigational freedom.
What is happening in the Red Sea?
Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year, fighters from the Yemen-based Houthi movement escalated attacks on commercial tankers passing through the Red Sea. The body of water connects the Mediterranean (and Europe) with the Indian Ocean. Since November 19, the Houthis have staged 27 attacks on shipping, firing anti-ship ballistic missiles into international shipping lanes. They have also tried to board vessels.
On January 10, Houthi rebels fired their largest-ever barrage of drones and missiles, forcing the US and British navies to shoot down the projectiles in a major naval engagement. Seen as proxies of Iran, the Houthi attacks raise the cost and uncertainty of shipping in the region, putting an economic drag on countries that rely on the critical trade link.
A Houthi forces helicopter seizing the cargo ship Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea in November 2023.Credit: Houthi Media Centre, via AP
In a geopolitical sense, this adds to the headwinds facing the Western alliance. The Houthis, for their part, say their assaults are aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Their targets increasingly have little – or no – connection to Israel.
Why are the US and UK getting involved?
With about 12 per cent of global trade passing through the Red Sea, it’s a vulnerable point for the global economy (not unlike the South China Sea.) As much as the Iranians, through their proxies, want to apply pressure on Western trade and generate uncertainty, the US and UK have an interest in ensuring the free flow of goods. If the Red Sea became impassible, ships would have to divert around Africa, adding weeks to transportation time. That in turn would add costs to economies already struggling with inflation linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, the US and UK allowing the Houthis to control shipping would signal a decline in the influence of the Western-led international order that supports the free movement of goods on open seas.
Who are the Houthis?
The Yemen-based Houthi movement joined the Israel-Hamas war when it began firing missiles at Israel. This places it alongside other Iran-backed militant groups, including Hezbollah, which has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces across the Lebanon border.
Houthi supporters in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, burn an American flag in September 2021 during a rally to mark the seventh anniversary of the Houthis’ takeover of the capital.Credit: AP
While not the officially recognised government of Yemen, the Houthi movement controls a significant portion of the country and its involvement goes against the West’s efforts to prevent the fighting from spreading.
The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), developed in the 1990s out of dissatisfaction with Yemeni government alignment with Saudi Arabia and the US. It has positioned itself as an anti-imperialist group against foreign intervention and as a force for economic development for Yemeni people.
The group’s slogan reads “God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam”, something it has claimed is not literal but symbolises its opposition to interference by those countries.
It was subject to arrests in the early 2000s amid concerns over its growing influence and responded with insurgencies that embarrassed the Yemeni and Saudi militaries.
The group is rooted in Zaydism, a sect of Shiite Islam that accounts for about 25 per cent of Yemen’s population; the rest of the country is predominately Sunni.
Where is Yemen?
The Middle East nation lies at the southern-most point of the Arabian Peninsula and shares a border with Saudi Arabia to its north and Oman to its east. Its coastline is on the southern end of the Red Sea (the Suez Canal is at the northern end) and represents a strategic choke point for world shipping and, crucially, Saudi oil.
Has Yemen declared war on Israel?
The Houthi movement, which controls Yemen’s west, said it launched ballistic and cruise missiles on southern Israel on November 1, 2023. The Israel Defence Forces said it intercepted at least one missile originating from near the Red Sea, along with other “aerial threats”. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said it was behind two earlier incidents, a drone attack on October 18 and three cruise missiles intercepted by the US Navy on October 19.
Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman (right) meets a delegation from the Houthi movement in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September last year.Credit: AP
Yemen’s Houthi movement, not Yemen itself, has effectively declared war on Israel. Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by the Saudi and US governments, has been in a civil war with the Houthis since 2014, though much of the violence has settled during the past year amid back-channel peace talks between the Houthis and the Saudis.
Why is Yemen involved in the conflict?
Like other militant groups getting involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Houthis are backed by Iran and are part of its “Axis of Resistance”.
Saree said Israel was to blame for the region’s conflict and that the Houthis would continue their involvement “until the Israeli aggression stops”.
Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Centre said the few Houthi attacks were, for now, “more about messaging than a real military threat”.
“The risk to Israel would be if there is an all-out engagement, with multiple rocket launches from all directions which could overwhelm the air defences,” he said.
Are Houthis aligned with Hamas?
The group is aligned with Iran’s Axis of Resistance, an informal military coalition centred on anti-Western and anti-Israel intent. Other participants include Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah; Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups; the Syrian government; and militant groups in Iraq.
The Houthis first indicated a link with Hamas in 2021 when they suggested swapping Saudi prisoners they held for the release of Palestinians. Hamas later presented the Houthi leadership with a “shield of honour” in recognition of support for the Palestinians.
with Reuters
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