Yemen’s Houthi rebels have vowed to resume missile attacks on Israel and hijack Israeli ships in the Red Sea, if Israel resumes fighting in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza Strip.
“We confirm our full readiness to resume military operations against the Israeli enemy if it decides to resume its aggression against Gaza,” Yehya Sarea, the Houthi military spokesman, was quoted on Thursday as saying by the al-Masirah TV.
The Houthi forces “will not hesitate to expand attacks against the Israeli entity to include targets that Israel may not expect on land or at sea,” he said.
“We continue to prevent Israeli ships in the Red Sea and we will take further measures to ensure the full implementation of this decision,” the spokesman added.
The Houthi threat came hours ahead of the expected expiration of the one-week humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, during which the two sides swapped hostages for prisoners, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Houthi armed group has carried out several cross-border missile and drone attacks toward Israeli cities and Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on October 7.
On November 19, the Houthi forces detained a commercial ship in the Red Sea and took it to Hodeidah, the Yemeni strategic Red Sea port currently under the Houthis’ control.
On Wednesday, the G7 foreign ministers issued a statement calling on the Houthi militia “to immediately cease attacks on civilians and threats to international shipping lanes and commercial vessels and release the M/V Galaxy Leader and its crew, illegally seized from international waters on November 19”.
Israel has vowed to resume airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza after the end of the temporary truce, which started last Friday and has been extended for three days to facilitate the swap of more hostages for prisoners. Israel agreed to extend the ceasefire for one day if Hamas frees 10 more hostages in exchange for about 30 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
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