Houthi attacks reach the Indian Ocean and there are reports that they possess high-quality missiles

The Houthis demand international shipping companies to take their threat to expand their operations seriously (French)

Sanaa -

 The Houthis in Yemen announced that they were moving their naval battle to the Indian Ocean to chase Israeli ships and prevent their passage to the ports of occupied Palestine in the context of support and support for the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip.

In a televised interview, the leader of the Ansar Allah group, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, confirmed on Thursday evening that they would expand the scope of targeting Israeli ships to the Indian Ocean, and that their military operations would not be limited to the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab.

Observers believed that moving the naval battle to the Indian Ocean is a major development that indicates that the Houthis possess unprecedented military capabilities in the Arab region, especially in light of the leak of news that the Houthis possess hypersonic missiles.

For his part, the Houthi military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, confirmed that 3 attack operations were carried out against 3 Israeli and American ships in the Indian Ocean with missiles and drones, but he did not clarify the date of their targeting.

Leader of the Ansar Allah group, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi: The martyrs of Gaza are not just numbers, but lives lost, wounds, and the suffering of a people being exterminated, and the failure and negligence of Muslims and Arabs contributes to the crime of the century carried out by the Israeli enemy in the Gaza Strip #Gaza_War #News pic.twitter.com/Mw1fJCftlj

- Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) March 14, 2024

Yemen flood

On Friday, during his participation in a massive demonstration in Al-Sabeen Square in the capital, Sana’a, Brigadier General Saree warned, with the title “Ramadan in Yemen, a flood to support Gaza,” all Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine should not pass through the Ras Al-Raja road, as they will be legitimate targets for their missile strikes and drones. .

Ansar Allah spokesman Muhammad Abdel Salam attributed his group’s military escalation to “the persistence of the Israeli aggression against Gaza,” and said in a tweet on the X website that “the escalation consists of chasing Israeli ships in the Indian Ocean and preventing them from sailing towards the Cape of Good Hope.”

Abdel Salam called on international shipping companies linked to Israel to take this escalation very seriously, "and to realize that any ship linked to Israel is vulnerable to Yemeni missiles."

In turn, Brigadier General Abdullah bin Amer, Deputy Director of the Moral Guidance Department, considered that "expanding the scope of the Yemeni operations as a victory for Gaza to include the Indian Ocean is an important and qualitative development."

He said in a tweet on his account on the X website, “The decision would not have been taken until it had been subjected to study and practical experience in terms of the ability to implement it, and certainly this escalatory step comes in response to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli siege and aggression.”

Saree stressed that their forces will not stop preventing Israeli navigation or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine unless the aggression against Gaza is stopped (Al Jazeera)

Hypersonic missiles

Those close to the Ansar Allah Houthis believe that the group’s operations in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the move of the battle to the Indian Ocean are narrowing the naval blockade on Israel, and raising the level of challenge to the United States, which is leading a naval military coalition that has been attacking Houthi positions inside Yemen since last January 12. Especially in light of the leak of news that the Houthis possess hypersonic missiles.

The Russian "Novosti" agency quoted a military source close to the Ansar Allah group (whose name was not mentioned) that the group conducted a test of a hypersonic missile powered by solid fuel, with a speed of 10,000 kilometers per hour, but it did not disclose the date of this test nor how to obtain it. on this technique.

The Russian agency reported that the source spoke about “an intention to use it for attacks in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden and to target Israeli sites.” On the other hand, Houthi sources did not confirm or deny this news.

However, Yemeni experts do not rule out the Houthis obtaining hypersonic missiles, and the head of the Abaad Center for Studies, researcher Abdul Salam Muhammad, believes in a statement to Al Jazeera Net that Russia may have been the one who supplied the Houthis with these missiles in the context of its confrontation with the United States, which supports Ukraine to confront Russia.

Serious threat

Military expert in maritime security, Dr. Ali Al-Dhahab, believes that the Houthis’ acquisition of hypersonic missiles constitutes a major threat, especially with the announcement of expanding targeting of Israeli ships to the Indian Ocean and preventing them from passing through the Cape of Good Hope route.

Al-Dhahab told Al-Jazeera Net, "If it is actually proven that the Houthis launched hypersonic missiles, this indicates that there is an international party that possesses this technology and is actually involved in these events taking place in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region."

He did not rule out that this party might be one of the major powers that are permanent members of the UN Security Council, “Russia or China.”

The military expert considered that "the naval battle in the Red Sea is now no longer between the Houthis on the one hand and America and Britain on the other, but rather it has become a confrontation between multiple parties with scores that they seek to settle."

He concluded that if the Houthis possessed this technology, they would not hesitate to target American and Western naval warships.

Source: Al Jazeera