Yemen's Houthis threaten to escalate attacks on ships linked to companies dealing with Israel
The Iran-backed Houthis launched a campaign targeting merchant vessels in response to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, saying they were doing so in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which $1 trillion of goods usually passes each year.
In an announcement late Sunday night, the Houthis said they had 'decided to escalate their military support operations and begin implementing the fourth phase of the naval blockade' against Israel.
They warned that they would target 'all ships belonging to any company that deals with the ports of the Israeli enemy, regardless of the nationality of that company, and in any location within the reach of our armed forces.' The vessels would be targeted regardless of their destination, they added.
The group said countries should pressure Israel to stop the war in Gaza and lift its blockade on the Palestinian territory 'if they want to avoid this escalation.'
Earlier this month, the Houthis attacked and sank two Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carriers – the Magic Seas and the Eternity C. The attack on the latter left four crew members dead and 11 more were taken captive, while all 22 crew members of the Magic Seas were rescued before the ship sank.
From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones. The rebels stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war and later became the target of an intense, weekslong airstrike campaign ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In May, the U.S. announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to shipping attacks, although the rebel group said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nancy Mace Reveals 1 Of Her ‘Favorite' Hobbies, And It's So Cruel People Think She's ‘Sick'
After spending her days terrorizing her colleagues and constituents, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) apparently likes to unwind by doing something that's so cartoonishly evil it sounds like something 'The Simpsons' would've written for Mr. Burns. On Sunday, Mace appeared on 'Fox Report Weekend' and shared one of her new 'favorite' hobbies with host Jon Scott. 'I have to tell you, one of my favorite things to watch on YouTube these days are the court hearings where illegals are in court, and ICE shows up to drag them out of court and deport them,' Mace said, presumably while stroking a white cat on her lap like a James Bond villain. Mace, unfortunately, continued, 'I can think of nothing more American today than keeping our streets safer by getting those violent criminals out of the United States of America, and we all have Donald J. Trump to thank for it.' Considering that the Trump administration's aggressive and inhumane deportation policies are unpopular with a majority of Americans, many users on X, formerly Twitter, were disgusted by Mace's remarks. A longer clip of Mace's appearance on 'Fox Report Weekend,' which was obtained by The Daily Beast, shows that Mace's Dr. Evil-esque comments were prompted by a graphic featured on Scott's show that read, 'Trump Crackdown in Sanctuary Cities.' The graphic seemed to indicate that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers in New York City have risen 400% since former President Joe Biden was in office. 'Clearly, there's a new sheriff in town,' Scott said. Mace agreed before adding the fun little tidbit that she's proposed a new bill to 'defund and take tax breaks' away from so-called sanctuary cities like New York. Trump and the Republican Party have long utilized racist rhetoric implying that all undocumented people are rapists and murderers. But recent data collected by the Deportation Data Project, a group that collects immigration numbers, indicates that about 30,000 people in immigration detention do not have a criminal record, NPR reports. Last week, HuffPost's Matt Shuham described what he saw over five days in immigration court in New York City this month. One of the more shocking quotes Shuham got during his time observing at the courthouse was from an unnamed federal agent involved with immigration court arrests. 'This is fishing in a stocked pool,' the agent told Shuham. 'You tell them, 'Show up at this location,' and then they show up and you grab them.' The agent also noted that special agents who deal with more complex crimes are being pulled off their assignments to do courthouse arrests. 'If you are a criminal,' the agent added, 'now is an easier time for you.' Related... I Watched 20 Arrests In Trump's America. Here's What They Looked Like. Nancy Mace Challenges Gavin Newsom To Debate So She Can 'Emasculate' Him Nancy Mace's 'Perverse' Migrant 'Dream' For Own State Gets Slammed Online
The Hill
5 minutes ago
- The Hill
Sen. Angus King to oppose ‘any' support for Israel amid Gaza crisis
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said Monday he will oppose 'any' support for Israel amid the hunger crisis in Gaza. 'I am through supporting the actions of the current Israeli government and will advocate—and vote—for an end to any United States support whatsoever until there is a demonstrable change in the direction of Israeli policy,' King said in a statement on his website. 'My litmus test will be simple: no aid of any kind as long as there are starving children in Gaza due to the action or inaction of the Israeli government,' he added. On Monday, President Trump indicated a break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the president stated there was 'real starvation' happening. Trump said to reporters during a meeting alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he was 'not particularly' in line with Netanyahu's claim that there was no starvation occurring in Gaza, which has faced mass destruction and death in Israel's war against Hamas. 'I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry,' Trump told reporters when asked about Netanyahu's claim. Gaza humanitarian director for Save the Children Rachael Cummings said that the situation for Gazans is 'catastrophic' and that children 'are literally starving.' 'The situation in Gaza is catastrophic for children and increasingly now for adults. There is no food available in the market. Children are literally starving,' Cummings said on ABC's 'This Week.' King said in his Monday statement that he 'cannot defend the indefensible,' adding that 'Israel's actions in the conduct of the war in Gaza, especially its failure to address the unimaginable humanitarian crisis now unfolding, is an affront to human decency.' 'What appears to be a deliberately-induced famine among a civilian population—including tens of thousands of starving children—can never be an acceptable military strategy,' he continued.
USA Today
5 minutes ago
- USA Today
Two rights groups are first Israeli voices to accuse Israel of genocide
Two Israeli rights groups said Israel was carrying out "coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza strip." JERUSALEM − Two Israeli human rights organizations said Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the first major voices in Israeli society to level the strongest possible accusation against the state, which vehemently denies it. Rights group B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel released their reports at a July 28 press conference in Jerusalem, saying Israel was carrying out "coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza strip." "The report we are publishing today is one we never imagined we would have to write," said B'Tselem Executive Director Yuli Novak. "The people of Gaza have been displaced, bombed and starved, left completely stripped of their humanity and rights." More: One meal a day. $20 for an egg. Choosing which kid gets fed. Starvation stalks Gaza Physicians for Human Rights Israel focused on damage to Gaza's healthcare system, saying: "Israel's actions have destroyed Gaza's healthcare infrastructure in a manner that is both calculated and systematic". Israel has fended off accusations of genocide since the early days of the Gaza war, including a case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice in the Hague that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned as "outrageous". A spokesperson for the Israeli government called the allegation made by the rights groups on Monday "baseless." More: 'Children look very hungry': Trump rejects Netanyahu's claim of no starvation in Gaza "There is no intent, (which is) key for the charge of genocide ... it simply doesn't make sense for a country to send in 1.9 million tons of aid, most of that being food, if there is an intent of genocide," said spokesperson David Mencer. A spokesperson for Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Accusations of genocide have particular gravity in Israel because of the origins of the concept in the work of Jewish legal scholars in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust. Israeli officials have in the past said using the word against Israel was libellous and antisemitic. When Amnesty International said in December that Israel had committed genocidal acts, Israel's foreign ministry called the global rights group a "deplorable and fanatical organization." The 1948 Genocide Convention, adopted globally after the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis, defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group". More: USAID analysis found no evidence of massive Hamas theft of Gaza aid Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to its tallies. Israel has often described that attack, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, as genocidal. Since then, Israel's offensive has killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins, and displaced nearly the entire population of more than two million. Israel has consistently said its actions are justified as self-defence, and Hamas is to blame for all harm to civilians, for refusing to release hostages and surrender, and for operating in civilian areas, which the group denies. 'I feel horror' At a Jerusalem cafe, Carmella, a 48-year-old teacher whose grandparents survived the Holocaust, said that she was distressed over the suffering an hour's drive away, inside Gaza. More: Israel and US recall teams from Gaza truce talks, US says Hamas not showing good faith "It feels difficult to me as an Israeli, as a Jew, to watch those images and feel anything but tremendous compassion and horror, to be honest. I feel horror." International attention to the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza has intensified in recent weeks, with U.N. agencies saying the territory is running out of food for its 2.2 million people. Israel, which controls all supplies in and out of Gaza, says it has let enough food in, and blames the U.N. for failing to distribute it. Israel shut off all supplies in March for nearly three months, reopening the territory in May but with restrictions it says are needed to prevent aid from ending up in the hands of fighters. Since then, its forces have shot dead hundreds of Gazans trying to reach food distribution sites, according to the United Nations. 'You see cracks' Israel has announced measures in recent days to increase aid supplies, including pausing fighting in some locations, allowing airlifts of food and safer corridors for aid. Throughout the conflict, Israeli media have tended to focus mainly on the plight of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Footage widely broadcast in other countries of destruction and casualties in Gaza is rarely shown on Israeli TV. That has been changing, with recent images of starving children having a little more impact, said Oren Persico from The Seventh Eye, a group that tracks trends in Israeli media. "It's very slowly evolving," he said. "You see cracks." But he did not expect the genocide allegation would spark a major shift in attitudes: "The Israeli perception is: 'what do you want from us? It's Hamas' fault, if it would only put down its weapons and (release) the hostages this could all be over'." In an editorial in the Jerusalem Post on Sunday, Dani Dayan, the chairman of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, said it was not accurate to accuse Israel of committing genocide. "But that does not mean we should not acknowledge the suffering of civilians in Gaza. There are many men, women, and children with no connection to terrorism who are experiencing devastation, displacement, and loss," he wrote. "Their anguish is real, and our moral tradition obligates us not to turn away from it."
