Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Claims Attacks On 'American Ship' In Red Sea And 'Israeli Targets' In Southern Israel; Vows To Fulfill 'Religious And Moral Obligation' To Palestinian People

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On March 19, 2024, the armed forces of the Yemeni Houthi Ansar Allah movement claimed responsibility for an anti-ship missile attack on the "American ship," the Mado, in the Red Sea, and for the launch of several "winged-missiles" at Israeli targets in the Umm Al-Rashrash (Eilat) area, in southern Israel.[1] Meanwhile, the Houthi Foreign Ministry harshly criticized the UN Security Council – following its criticism of the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea – and accused it of "succumbing to American criminal desires."

Houthi Armed Forces: "We Continue To Fulfill Our Religious And Moral Obligation" To The Palestinian People

On March 19, 2024, on his Telegram and his X accounts, in both Arabic and in English, Houthi armed forces spokesman Yahya Saree' claimed responsibility for an attack on the U.S. ship, the Mado, in the Red Sea, and for firing missiles toward the Eilat area. He repeated his declaration that the Houthi operations were carried out, "in triumph to the oppressed Palestinian people and in response to the American-British aggression against our country."

Saree' also asserted that the Houthi armed forces will continue their military operations "until the aggression is stopped and the siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza is lifted."[2]

Also on March 19, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that on March 18, between 1:00 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. (Sana'a time) CENTCOM forces "successfully engaged and destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and three weapons storage containers in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen."[3]

The Israel Defense Forces Spokesman stated that on the night of March 17, a cruise missile that originated from the direction of the Red Sea fell in an open area north of the city of Eilat, and that no casualties or damage were reported.[4]

Houthi Foreign Ministry Says UN Security Council "Has Succumbed To American Criminal Desires"

Also on March 19, the Houthi Foreign Ministry issued an official response to the March 18 UN Security Council statement which condemned the Houthi attacks on shipping vessels and commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea.[5] The ministry expressed great displeasure with the statement and claimed that it reflected "the dangerous extent to which the Council has succumbed to American criminal desires, blindly following the American position that supports brutal massacres and practices of genocide against civilians in Gaza."

The Houthi response declared the importance of "purifying UN institutions from the Zionist lobby," adding that it would have been more appropriate for the Security Council to first condemn "the daily acts of slaughter on the part of the Israeli enemy" in the Gaza Strip, and prevent the U.S. from supplying it with weapons to perpetrate these massacres. It also said that the operations of the Houthi armed forces in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea were "tightly bound up with the events in Gaza," and asserted that they would continue until the cessation of "the Zionist criminal aggression" against Gaza and the lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip.[6]