Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday warned opposing forces in the Red Sea of the ‘consequences’ of any attack on their country during the truce in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.
The Iranian-backed rebels, who control large swathes of Yemen and the capital Sanaa, also claimed responsibility for an attack on several warships, including the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.
The Houthis ‘warn enemy forces in the Red Sea of the consequences of any aggression against our country during the ceasefire period in Gaza’, the rebels said in a statement and a video on X.
The Houthis ‘will confront any aggression with precise military operations against these forces without (...) red lines’, they added.
The rebel leader, Abdel Malek al-Houthi, had already threatened on Thursday to continue his attacks against Israel if the latter did not respect the truce agreement.
The first phase of the truce in Gaza is due to last 42 days and come into effect at 06:30 GMT on Sunday.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have been carrying out attacks off the coast of Yemen against ships they believe to be linked to Israel, claiming to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in the context of the war in the Gaza Strip.
These attacks have disrupted traffic in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, a vital maritime zone for world trade, prompting the United States to set up a multinational naval coalition and strike rebel targets in Yemen, sometimes with the help of the United Kingdom.
On Sunday, the Houthis claimed to have targeted the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and other ‘warships’ with drones and cruise missiles, which the US has not confirmed.
‘The US aircraft carrier was forced to leave the theatre of operations’, according to the Houthi statement.
With AFP.
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