Yemeni Houthis have announced a blockade of the Red Sea — targeting Israel
The Houthis announced this on their social media accounts.
The Houthis will regard any Israeli vessel sailing through the Red Sea as a military target and will attack it. They also stated that they reserve the right to respond with escalation to any escalation in other conflicts in the region involving Israel, the US and Iran: in Palestine (particularly the Gaza Strip), Iraq and Lebanon.
What led up to this
On the night of 8 June, Iran attacked Israel with ballistic missiles for the first time since April — in response to an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital, Beirut. In Israel, this attack was explained as a response to a strike by the pro-Iranian Lebanese group Hezbollah.
According to the Israeli military, all Iranian missiles were intercepted by air defences or fell in open terrain. In response, the Israelis struck several targets at the petrochemical complex in Mahshahr in south-western Iran. In the morning, Iran continued to attack Israel. Also during the night, the Houthis fired one missile towards Israel.
From late 2023 until the summer of 2025, the Houthis imposed a blockade in the Red Sea on all vessels linked to Israel. They damaged at least 30 merchant ships, sank four and seized one.
As a result, most Western container ships bypassed the Red Sea throughout 2024 and took a much longer route around South Africa on voyages between Asia and Europe. This increased delivery times and drove up prices and freight rates. After Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the blockade was lifted.
Follow us on Telegram
