Israel’s Yemen strike will embolden Houthis, analysts say
- Attack will provide the Houthis with ‘political capital’, widen rebels’ appeal amid growing anger in Yemen over the Gaza war, observers note
Israel’s first attack on Yemen’s Houthis, who have defied months of strikes by the United States and Britain, is likely to only embolden the rebels, analysts say.
Saturday’s strike on the port city of Hodeidah, which the rebels say killed six people and triggered a massive fire, will provide the Houthis with “political capital”, said Maged Al-Madhaji, co-founder of the Sanaa Centre for Strategic Studies think tank.
“They legitimise Houthi claims that they are waging a war with Israel,” which could widen the rebels’ appeal amid growing anger in Yemen over the Gaza war, he said.
Since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October, the Houthis have positioned themselves as a key member of Tehran’s regional network of allies, which includes armed groups in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
They have launched nearly 90 attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November and on Friday, a Houthi drone attack breached Israel’s intricate air defences, killing one person in Tel Aviv, triggering Israel’s strike on Hodeidah.
Hours after the Hodeidah attack, hundreds of Yemenis took to the streets of the rebel-controlled capital Sanaa, chanting – “death to America, death to Israel” – as they waved Palestinian flags.
