Houthis to halt Israel, Red Sea attacks if Gaza truce comes into force

If the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is reached on Sunday, Houthi rebels will support the Yemeni group’s spokesperson, who stated that they will stop conducting military operations against Israel as well as against commercial ships in the Red Sea.

“If Israel stops the aggression in Gaza, and if the US, UK and Israel stop the aggression against Yemen, the Houthis will stop their operations, including attacks against navies and commercial ships”, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti told Al Jazeera on Saturday.

Numerous targets inside Yemen have been targeted by the UK and the US to deter the Houthis. Additionally, Washington imposed sanctions on Iran-linked organizations.

Israel, however, continues to kill women and children]in Gaza], so the Houthis were forced to launch a missile attack, he said, apparently referring to the missile strike launched earlier on Saturday.

In the morning and afternoon, the Israeli army claimed to have intercepted two missiles fired at Israel from Yemen. According to military reports, the first one targeted central Israel, while the second one targeted the south.

In addition, the Houthis announced that they had fired a missile into central Israel early in the morning. If Israel stopped its military offensive in Gaza, they had repeatedly vowed to stop their attacks. More than 46, 000 Palestinians have died as a result of the 15-month Israeli bombardment, which has left Gaza roos.

Israel has bombed Houthi-controlled ports, including the Hodeidah port considered a lifeline for the war-torn nation, and power plants.

Houthi attacks backing Palestinians

Since October 2024, the group has been firing rockets at Israel as a show of support for Palestinians in Gaza. International trade was hampered by the Houthi rebels’ attacks on commercial ships and ships connected to Israel and its allies that passed through Bab al-Mandeb in the Red Sea.

Israel justified its devastating military offensive by claiming that it was intended to stop the Hamas-led organization, which carried out an attack inside Israel on October 7, 2023 that left dozens of people dead. The Palestinian fighters also took some 250 people captive.

Rights groups claimed that Israel committed war crimes and waged a genocidal war against Palestinians. The International Court of Justice in February 2024 said the Israeli offensive “plausibly” amounted to genocide. Israel has rejected the accusations.

On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire that will put an end to the 15-month conflict that has left nearly 90 percent of its 2.3 million people homeless and severely injured.

A brief ceasefire in November 2023&nbsp, saw the release of 110 Israeli captives and some 240 Palestinian prisoners.

In the first phase of this ceasefire, 33 Israeli captives will be freed in exchange for nearly 1, 900 Palestinian prisoners, according to Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But the Israeli army has intensified strikes on Gaza since the deal was announced, killing at least 123 people. The Israeli army said it conducted raids on 50 “terror targets” across Gaza on Friday.