Muhammad Abdel Salam: Red Sea operations will not stop until the aggression on Gaza ends (Al Jazeera - archive)
The Ansar Allah group (Houthis) said on Tuesday that its attacks against ships in the Red Sea with missiles and drones will not stop unless the Israeli aggression on Gaza ends and the siege on the Strip is lifted.
The group's spokesman, Muhammad Abdel Salam, explained, in response to a question from Reuters, whether attacks on ships would stop if a ceasefire agreement was reached in Gaza, saying that "the situation will be re-evaluated if the blockade ends and humanitarian aid is allowed to enter Gaza freely."
Destruction of boats
These Houthi statements come in the wake of US Central Command's confirmation that it destroyed - yesterday, Monday - three drone boats and two anti-ship cruise missiles, which it said were prepared to be launched towards the Red Sea from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.
The US command also announced that the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile yesterday, most likely targeting the US oil tanker MV Torm Dhur in the Gulf of Aden, “but it fell into the water without causing any damage.”
Officials announced that American and British forces carried out strikes on more than 12 Houthi targets last Saturday, as part of a series of previous strikes launched by the “Prosperity Alliance” in the Red Sea on what it said were targets in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.
The Houthi group responded to this by repeatedly affirming that it would not stop its naval attacks and would continue to "target Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine in solidarity and support for the Gaza Strip."
Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters