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On December 6, 2023, Houthi Defense Minister Major General Muhammad Nasser Al-'Atifi declared, during his visit to the Galaxy Leader commercial ship that was hijacked by the Houthis on November 19, 2023,[1] that the Red Sea is now "forbidden to the Zionist entity" and that his forces "are ready to inflict the harshest strikes" on every Israeli target. He stated that the Houthis would continue to attack Israel, with missiles and with drones, "until it ceases its aggression against Gaza." He also threatened the U.S. that if it joins the war, it will lose and therefore, "it shouldn't be dragged along by the Zionist enemy." It is noteworthy that on the same day, the Houthis claimed responsibility for launching "ballistic missiles" at Israeli territory.[2]
Other senior Houthi officials called for Eilat "to be emptied of its residents," and asserted that the Houthis will continue to attack Israeli ships and that "whoever defends them should also take a beating. This is a clear message to Americans and to the West." They said that the Houthis are closely following the bolstering of forces in their region by the U.S. and Western countries, and stressed that they view this as "ongoing aggression and satanic schemes directed against Yemen and the entire region."
The following are details from the Houthi statements:
Houthi Defense Minister: We'll Attack Every Israeli Ship In The Red Sea; 'America Will Lose This War. It Shouldn't Be Dragged Along By The Zionist Enemy'
On December 6, 2023, Houthi Defense Minister Al-'Atifi visited the Houthi naval forces, the coastguard, and its fifth military region on the west coast of Yemen. During the visit, which, as mentioned above, included a tour of the deck of the Galaxy Leader, Al-'Atifi declared that the Red Sea is safe for ships from all the countries of the world, "except for ships of the Zionist enemy or those that are connected to it." He stressed that, "the Red Sea, from the Gulf of Aqaba to Bab Al-Mandab [Strait], has become forbidden to the Zionist entity. Every ship of the Zionist entity in the Red Sea will be seized or attacked." Al-'Atifi added that the Yemeni navy and its missile and drone forces "are ready to inflict the harshest strikes" on every Israeli target. He further asserted, "We will continue to attack with missiles and with drones every target of the Zionist entity, until it ceases its aggression against Gaza."
Al-'Atifi warned the U.S. against becoming involved in the fighting and declared, "The opponent is strong, and the countries that compete [with the U.S.] in East and North Asia are waiting at the gate. America will lose this war and therefore it must not be dragged along by the Zionist enemy… We have every kind of weapon that can reach the enemy anywhere in the Red Sea and cause its fleets to sink to the bottom of the sea." Maj. Gen. Muhammad Fadl Abd Al-Nabi, Commander of the Houthi naval forces, who accompanied the defense minister, also stressed that the Houthis "will continue to carry out their missions until the Zionist entity ceases its criminal and barbaric attacks against the residents of Gaza."[3]
Houthi Defense Minister Al-'Atifi and other senior Houthi commanders, on the deck of the hijacked Galaxy Leader (December 6, 2023)
Senior Houthi Officials: 'Eilat Should Be Emptied Of Its Residents;' Whoever Defends Israeli Ships 'Should Also Take A Beating'
On December 6, Houthi Political Bureau and Shura Council member Hezam Al-Asad, published a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, in Arabic and in Hebrew, which read, "Eilat – just as it was emptied of ships, so it should also be emptied of its residents. The blood and the lives of our people in Gaza are dear."[4] In a post that he shared the following day, Al-Asad mocked the U.S., which, he said, "goes around like a beggar searching for someone to agree to join it in a pact against the Yemeni people. This is in order to defend and safeguard the home front of the Zionists while they are killing our people in Gaza and perpetrating the most terrible crimes and acts of slaughter."[5]
On December 5, 2023, on his X account, Houthi Political Bureau member Ali Al-Qahoum ridiculed what he referred to as, "the screams and the commotion from the U.S. and Israel that get louder every day," and mentioned "the ever-increasing flow of American and Western military forces in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandeb and opposite the Yemeni coast." He wrote that they are ostensibly there to defend the international freedom of the seas, while in fact their goal is to defend Israeli ships and to prevent them from being attacked.
Al-Qahoum asserted that Yemen will continue to attack Israeli ships and that "whoever defends them should also take a beating. This is a clear message to the Americans and to the West in light of their declared stand in favor of assistance to and even participation with the temporary and oppressive Zionist entity in its barbaric aggression against the Palestinian people." He mentioned that the Houthis "are closely following the continuous flow of American forces and warships opposite the coasts of Yemen and Bab Al-Mandeb," and described it as "ongoing aggression and satanic schemes against Yemen and the entire region."[6]
[1] See MEMRI JTTM Report: Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Claims Capture Of ‘Israeli Ship’ In Red Sea; Says Israeli Vessels Are Legitimate Target Until ‘Aggression’ Ceases Against Palestinian People, Threatens 'This Is [Just] The Beginning', November 20, 2023.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM Report: Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Claims Responsibility For Launching Ballistic Missiles At Military Sites In Eilat, Vows To Enforce Ban On Israeli Vessels, December 6, 2023.
[3] December 6, 2023.
[4] Twitter, December 6, 2023.
[5] Twitter, December 7, 2023.
[6] Twitter, December 5, 2023.
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